An Act designating cranberry juice as the State beverage.

Whereas, A fruit native to North America, the cranberry grows on an evergreen shrub that thrives in wet areas, such as bogs or wetlands; and

Whereas, The history of cranberries predates the arrival of the first European settlers in the Western Hemisphere as cranberries were a staple of the diets of Native-Americans; and

Whereas, The Lenni Lenape people from southern New Jersey harvested wild cranberries and used the fruit in a variety of remedies, foods, and drinks; and

Whereas, In New Jersey, commercial cranberry farming began in 1835 in a bog in Burlington County and New Jersey is now the third largest cranberry producing state in the United States; and

Whereas, Records indicate that cranberries sold for as much as $50 a barrel in the 1840s when merchants sold cranberries to sailors who consumed the fruit for its high Vitamin C content to help ward off scurvy; and

Whereas, In 1917, Elizabeth Lee of New Jersey was the first person to create cranberry sauce from the berries and later joined forces with other farmers to start the company that became known as Ocean Spray, famous for its bottled cranberry juice; and

Whereas, Research indicates that cranberry juice is full of nutrients that may have significant health benefits by boosting the immune system; and

Whereas, New Jersey does not have a State beverage and it is fitting and proper to formally recognize the significance of cranberries to the history and culture of our State and its people by designating cranberry juice as the State beverage; now, therefore,

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Cranberry juice is designated as the State beverage.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill designates cranberry juice as the State beverage. The bill was inspired by the advocacy of the fourth grade classes in Cinnaminson township schools in New Jersey.

New Jersey is the third largest cranberry producing state in the United States. The history of cranberries predates the arrival of the first European settlers in the Western Hemisphere as cranberries were a staple of the diets of Native-Americans. In New Jersey, commercial cranberry farming began in 1835 in a bog in Burlington County and New Jersey is now the third largest cranberry producing state in the United States. In 1917, Elizabeth Lee of New Jersey was the first person to create cranberry sauce from the berries and later joined forces with other farmers to start the company that became known as Ocean Spray.

Research indicates that cranberry juice is full of nutrients that may have significant health benefits. New Jersey does not have a State beverage and it is fitting and proper to formally recognize the significance of cranberries to the history and culture of our State and its people by designating cranberry juice as the State beverage.