This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives.
STORAGE NAME: h1555a.PEW
DATE: 3/30/2023
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1555 Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program
SPONSOR(S): Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee, Valdés
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 1172
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Postsecondary Education & Workforce
Subcommittee
17 Y, 0 N, As CS Kiner Kiner
2) Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations
Subcommittee
3) Education & Employment Committee
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
College students throughout Florida suffer from food insecurity and despite available resources, often do not
receive needed assistance due to the stigma associated with resources or ineligibility. States across the
country are working towards hunger-free campuses by passing hunger-free campus legislation to support
students in need.
Subject to legislative appropriation, the bill establishes a one year Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program within
the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to select the three state universities or Florida College
System institutions with the highest percentage of students receiving the Pell Grant to participate in the pilot
program. The bill establishes participation requirements, including:
establishing a hunger task force;
designating a staff member responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
providing options for students to use SNAP benefits at campus stores, or providing students with
information on where SNAP benefits may be used in the area surrounding the campus;
hosting an activity or event during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness
of hunger on the nation’s campuses;
providing at least one physical food pantry on campus or enabling students to receive food at no cost
through a separate, stigma-free process;
developing a student meal credit donation program or designating a certain amount of funds for free
food vouchers; and
conducting a student survey on hunger and submitting the results to the FDACS.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to submit a report on the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program
to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by July 1, 2025.
The bill also requires the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
(OPPAGA) to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on Florida College System institution and state
university campuses. OPPAGA must submit its findings to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House by December 1, 2023.
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on Florida College System institutions and state universities
that participate in the pilot program.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
STORAGE NAME: h1555a.PEW PAGE: 2
DATE: 3/30/2023
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Postsecondary Student Nutrition Services
Present Situation
Approximately one-third of college students in the United States are food insecure,
1
and more than half
of the students enrolled in the Florida College System are low income and first-generation.
2
Food
insecurity is associated with poor mental and physical health, as well as lower rates of academic
success among students. Prior to the coronavirus crisis, the American Association of Collegiate
Registrars and Admissions Officers identified food insecurity as a top barrier to student non-completion,
and as a result of the pandemic 5.8 out of every 10 students have experienced basic needs insecurity.
3
While forms of assistance such as local food pantries and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP) exist, many students do not take advantage of them or they do not qualify.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
SNAP is the United States Department of Agriculture’s food assistance program to provide food
benefits, access to a healthy diet, and education on food preparation and nutrition to low-income
households.
4
SNAP assists students by allowing them to purchase food for the household, including
fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, breads, cereals, and snack foods.
5
In 2019, over 2.9 million Florida residents received SNAP benefits.
6
Students attending a college or
university are generally not eligible for SNAP benefits, but some enrolled at least half-time in an
institution of higher education may be eligible if initial SNAP eligibility requirements, as well as one of
the following requirements, is met by the student:
is under age 18 or over age 50;
has a physical or mental disability;
works at least 20 hours a week in paid employment;
participates in a state or federally financed work study program;
participates in an on-the-job training program;
cares for a child under the age of 6;
cares for a child age 6 to 11 and lacks necessary child care enabling the student to attend
school and work 20 hours a week or participate in work study;
is a single parent enrolled full-time in college and is taking care of a child under 12;
receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance;
is enrolled in a TANF Job Opportunities and Basic Skills program;
1
DeBate et al., Food Insecurity, Well-being, and Academic Success among College Students: Implications for Post
COVID-19 Pandemic Programming, Ecology of Food and Nutrition, October 7, 2021, available at https://www.usf.edu/arts-
sciences/centers/cafshc/documents/food-insecurity-wellbeing-and-academic-success.pdf.
2
Florida Department of Education, Affordability in the Florida College System (December 2018), available at
https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7724/urlt/FCS18-Affordability.pdf.
3
Florida College Access Network, Nearly 3 in 5 College Students Struggle with Food, Housing Insecurity Due to Covid-19 (July 1,
2020), available at https://floridacollegeaccess.org/research-and-data/nearly-3-in-5-college-students-struggle-with-food-housing-
insecurity-due-to-covid-19/.
4
Benefits.gov, Florida Food Assistance Program (SNAP), What is Florida Food Assistance Program (SNAP)?,
https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/1244#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20Department%20of,nutrition%20to%20low%2Dincome
%20households (last visited Jan. 31, 2022).
5
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – What Can
SNAP Buy?, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items (last visited Jan. 31, 2022).
6
United States Census Bureau, SNAP Benefits Recipients in Florida, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BR12000FLA647NCEN (last
visited Jan. 31, 2022). STORAGE NAME: h1555a.PEW PAGE: 3
DATE: 3/30/2023
is assigned to, placed in, or self-placed in a college or other institution of higher education
through a SNAP Employment and Training program, certain other programs for low-income
households, a program under Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, or a Trade
Adjustment Assistance Program; or
meets one of the temporary exemptions due to COVID-19.
7
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, instigated by COVID-19, enabled 3 million new students
to qualify for SNAP
8
by allowing students eligible to participate in state or federally financed work study
programs, or having an Expected Family Contribution of 0 in the academic year.
9
Campus Food Pantries
Nearly one third (29 percent) of college students have missed a meal at least once a week since the
beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than half of all students have used off-campus food
banks.
10
Campus food pantries are often run by campus student support services, student government, or the
administrative department, and are for enrolled students facing food insecurity. Pantries may partner
with organizations in the community to keep the shelves and freezers stocked and raise donations.
Mobile pantries may also directly serve students in high need of hunger-relief.
11
Hunger-Free Campuses
The first Hunger-Free Campus bill was originally introduced in California in 2017 by then
Assemblywoman Monique Limón. The Hunger-Free Campus policy provided funding to public colleges
addressing student hunger on campus. Since its passage in California,
12
four additional states have
formally passed Hunger-Free Campus legislation, including New Jersey,
13
Maryland,
14
Minnesota,
15
and Massachusetts.
16
Seven additional states, including Florida, have now introduced the bill, including
Pennsylvania, Washington, Illinois, North Carolina, New York, and West Virginia.
Effect of Proposed Changes
Subject to legislative appropriation, the bill establishes a one year Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program
within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to select the three state universities or Florida College
System institutions with the highest percentage of students receiving the Pell Grant to participate in the
pilot program. The bill establishes participation requirements, including:
establishing a hunger task force;
7
United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Students,
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/students#:~:text=Generally%2C%20students%20attending%20an%20institution,unless%20they%20m
eet%20an%20exemption.&text=You%20are%20considered%20a%20student,an%20institution%20of%20higher%20education (last
visited Jan. 31, 2022).
8
The Century Foundation, Congress Made 3 Million College Students Newly Eligible for SNAP Food Aid. Here’s What Must Come
Next (Feb. 2, 2021), https://tcf.org/content/commentary/congress-made-3-million-college-students-newly-eligible-snap-food-aid-
heres-must-come-next/ (Jan. 31, 2022).
9
Pub. L. No. 116-260, 133 Stat. 2093 (Dec. 27, 2020).
10
Swipe Out Hunger, Swipe Out Hunger Acquires the College and University Food Bank Alliance (Oct. 21, 2021),
https://www.swipehunger.org/cufba/#:~:text=During%20the%20pandemic%2C%20more%20than,since%20it%20began%20in%2020
12. (Jan 31, 2022).
11
Feeding Florida, Mobile Pantries, https://www.feedingflorida.org/food-access/mobile-pantries, (Jan. 31, 2022). Feeding Florida
consists of 12-member food banks within its mobile pantry program.
12
Cal. Educ. Code § 66027.8 (2017).
13
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:62-60 (2019).
14
Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 11-1703 (2021).
15
Minn. Stat. Ann. § 135A.137 (2021).
16
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 15A, § 2 (2021). STORAGE NAME: h1555a.PEW PAGE: 4
DATE: 3/30/2023
designating a staff member responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP);
providing options for students to use SNAP benefits at campus stores, or providing students
with information on where SNAP benefits may be used in the area surrounding the campus;
hosting an activity or event during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote
awareness of hunger on the nation’s campuses;
providing at least one physical food pantry on campus or enabling students to receive food at no
cost through a separate, stigma-free process;
developing a student meal credit donation program or designating a certain amount of funds for
free food vouchers; and
conducting a student survey on hunger and submitting the results to the FDACS.
The bill requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to submit a report on the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot
Program to the Governor, President of the Senate, and Speaker of the House of Representatives by
July 1, 2025.
The bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt rules to implement
the program.
The bill also requires the Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
Accountability (OPPAGA) to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on Florida College System
institution and state university campuses. The study must include recommendations for any changes to
general law, Board of Governor regulations, or State Board of Education rules needed to address food
insecurity on the campuses of Florida College System institutions and state universities. In conducting
the study, OPPAGA must consult with the Board of Governors of the State University System, the
Florida College System, the Department of Education, and any other relevant stakeholders. The bill
requires OPPAGA to submit a report on its findings to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House by December 1, 2023.
B. SECTION DIRECTORY:
Section 1: Provides a short title.
Section 2: Establishing the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program within the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services; providing the purpose of the program; providing
definitions; requiring the Commissioner of Agriculture to select three state universities or
Florida College System institutions for participation in the program; providing criteria for
the selection of such universities or institutions; providing requirements for participating
universities and institutions; requiring participating universities and institutions to submit
a report to the department; requiring the commissioner to submit a report to the
Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; specifying requirements for the
reports; authorizing the department to adopt rules
Section 3: Requires OPPAGA to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on Florida College
System institution and state university campuses.
Section 4: Provides an effective date of July 1, 2023.
II. FISCAL ANALYSIS & ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENT
A. FISCAL IMPACT ON STATE GOVERNMENT:
1. Revenues:
See fiscal comments.
2. Expenditures:
See fiscal comments. STORAGE NAME: h1555a.PEW PAGE: 5
DATE: 3/30/2023
B. FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
1. Revenues:
See fiscal comments.
2. Expenditures:
See fiscal comments.
C. DIRECT ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PRIVATE SECTOR:
See fiscal comments.
D. FISCAL COMMENTS:
The bill may have an indeterminate fiscal impact on Florida College System institutions and state
universities that participate in the pilot program. The bill is subject to appropriation by the Legislature.
III. COMMENTS
A. CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES:
1. Applicability of Municipality/County Mandates Provision:
None.
2. Other:
None.
B. RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY:
The bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt rules to implement
the program.
C. DRAFTING ISSUES OR OTHER COMMENTS:
None.
IV. AMENDMENTS/COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE CHANGES
On March 29, 2023, the Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee adopted one amendment to
HB 1555 and subsequently reported the bill favorably as a committee substitute. The amendment revised
the bill by requiring the Commissioner of Agriculture to select the three state universities or Florida College
System institutions with the highest percentage of students receiving the Pell Grant to participate in the
pilot program instead of the institutions with the highest number of Pell Grant-eligible students.
The bill analysis is drafted to the committee substitute adopted by the Postsecondary Education &
Workforce Subcommittee.