Students at Samsel Upper Elementary School in Sayreville make the case for naming saltwater taffy as the official state candy. The students lobbied the state Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee in Trenton on June 5 alongside state Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), who introduced a bill in January that would make the sweet treat the official candy of New Jersey. A fter more than a year of waiting, a group of about 100 sweet-toothed fifth-graders have come one step closer to making New Jersey history.
Four classes of students from Samsel Upper Elementary School (SUES), Sayreville, visited Trenton June 5 to lobby the state Assembly’s Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee to refer a bill to the full Assembly that would make saltwater taffy the official candy of New Jersey.
State Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) introduced the bill Jan. 16, and the committee unanimously released it for a vote on the Assembly floor last week.
“I think that, any time you have a group of young students who are showing this type of interest in government, it’s a great sign that our democracy is alive and well,” Wisniewski said. “I was in their classroom [last year], and I had said to them, ‘Do you have an idea we could make into a law?’ This was a fantastic idea. We don’t have a state candy and saltwater taffy is a natural, so why not?”
The students proposed the idea at the end of the last school year while they were in fourth grade, according to SUES Vice Principal Bonnie Brady.
“In the fourth grade, our students learn about New Jersey history, and one of the things that they learn along with the government is how a bill becomes law,” she said.
In the process, the students also learned about things that are specific to New Jersey, including the state tree, flower, animal and dinosaur, according to Brady.
One thing the students noticed was that an official state candy was conspicuously absent from the list, she said. The students decided on saltwater taffy after they returned from a hiatus caused by superstorm Sandy, according to Mary Desmond, SUES librarian and media specialist.
“After a lot of discussion and thorough research, we realized that saltwater taffy was created in New Jersey — in Atlantic City, down the Shore,” Desmond said.
Urban legend says the treat came about after a candy store flooded with water from the ocean during a major storm. Taken together, this made the choice obvious, she said.
“It was just a great way to try to have something positive come of a negative event that took place across New Jersey,” Desmond said.
Assemblyman Troy Singleton (DBurlington), a member of the Gaming, Tourism and the Arts Committee, said the students exemplify the idea of an engaged citizenry.
“When I see this, it harkens back to something my grandmother said to me: If you just observe, you get the government you deserve,” he said.
“For all the young people in the room now who are active participants in our government, you should be proud — not only of the legislation that brings you here, but of your thoughtfulness and eagerness to be a part of our wondrous democracy,” Singleton said.
The fifth-graders are thrilled to be part of potential “history in the making,” Desmond said.
“The key here — the whole idea behind it — is that it doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter who you are. You can have a say in our government,” she said.