Speaker Craig Coughlin and Mayor Al Smith to discuss Food Insecurity and Healthy Eating at January 15 Scotch Plains Town Council Meeting

New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin will join Mayor Al Smith and the Town Council at their January 15, 2019 meeting at 7:00pm to discuss food insecurity and healthy eating initiatives.

Speaker Coughlin has made fighting hunger and promoting healthy eating in New Jersey a priority, and he recently led the effort to pass 13 bills in the State Assembly to improve people’s access to healthy food and reduce food waste. The bills all passed on a bipartisan basis.

The bills now await passage in the State Senate before they can be signed into law. Speaker Coughlin will be visiting Scotch Plains to promote these legislative initiatives and gain public awareness.

Since taking office, Mayor Al Smith has made healthy eating, nutrition programs, and supporting food banks, and other organizations that distribute food to needy communities a major component of his Mayor’s Wellness Campaign. Mayor Smith and the Town Council are supporting Speaker Coughlin’s initiatives, which will bolster our local efforts.

“I am proud of our efforts in the Assembly to fight food insecurity and raise awareness about the issue of hunger throughout our state,” said Speaker Craig Coughlin. “I want to thank Mayor Smith for welcoming me to Scotch Plains and congratulate him on the success of his wellness campaign, and look forward to working together in a bipartisan fashion to address hunger and create health initiatives in communities.”

“I’m pleased to see Speaker Coughlin and our state legislators taking action to promote healthy food choices and address food waste,” said Mayor Al Smith. “Working together on a bipartisan basis, we can find solutions for communities that do not have easy access to nutritious food and need our support. Let’s all give Speaker Coughlin a warm Scotch Plains welcome on January 15.”

The public is urged to attend this meeting. This will be the first time in the history of Scotch Plains that a sitting Speaker of the New Jersey State Assembly will be speaking at a Town Council meeting.

For the list of bills supported by Speaker Coughlin, please click the link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tGmx0LBzyAws9IlBaU26eZ4w21fCxs4G/view