The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Agriculture
BILL: CS/SB 1172
INTRODUCER: Senator Calatayud
SUBJECT: Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program
DATE: March 14, 2023
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Becker Becker AG Fav/CS
2. AEG
3. FP
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
SB 1172, the “Hunger-Free Campus Act,” creates the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program within
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (department). The purpose of the program
is to support efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of postsecondary educational institutions
and the program is established for one year beginning July 1, 2023.
The bill directs the Commissioner of Agriculture (commissioner) to identify the top three
institutions that have the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students among all state
universities and Florida College System institutions and those three shall participate in the
program.
The commissioner shall develop a survey instrument requiring all participating universities or
Florida College System institutions to meet certain requirements, including, but not limited to,
establishing a hunger task force, designating a staff member responsible for assisting students in
enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), providing options for
students to use SNAP benefits on campus, providing at least one food pantry on campus, and
conducting a student study on hunger.
The bill requires each participating state university or Florida College System institution to
submit a report to the department which describes how it implemented the program. By January
1, 2025, the commissioner shall report on the program to the Governor, the President of the
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report shall include, but is not
REVISED: BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 2
limited to, the impact of the program on establishing hunger-free campuses at participating state
universities or Florida College System institutions; the impact of the program on reducing the
number of students at such universities and institutions who are experiencing food insecurity;
and recommendations regarding future funding and implementation of the program on a long-
term basis.
The bill directs the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
(OPPAGA) to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on the campuses of state universities
and Florida College System institutions. The study must include recommendations for any
changes to general law, Board of Governors’ rules and regulations, or State Board of Education
rules needed to address food insecurity on the campuses of state universities and Florida College
System institutions, by December 1, 2023.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
II. 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 SNAP exist, many students do not
take advantage of them due to the stigma associated, or because they do not qualify.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),
administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
4
SNAP, formerly the Food
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 (last visited March 10, 2023).
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 (last visited March 10, 2023).
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/ (last visited March 10, 2023).
4
1 The Food Stamp Program (FSP) originated in 1939 as a pilot program for certain individuals to buy stamps equal to their
normal food expenditures: for every $1 of orange stamps purchased, people received 50 cents worth of blue stamps, which
could be used to buy surplus food. The FSP expanded nationwide in 1974. Under the federal welfare reform legislation of
1996, Congress enacted major changes to the FSP, including limiting eligibility for certain adults who did not meet work
requirements. The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 renamed the FSP the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
and implemented priorities to strengthen program integrity; simplify program administration; maintain states’ flexibility in
how they administer their programs; and improve access to SNAP. See A Short History of SNAP, UNITED STATES BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 3
Stamp Program, is the nation’s largest domestic food and nutrition assistance program for low-
income Americans.
5
For low-income households, increased spending on food is consistently and
positively associated with diet quality and is associated with higher use and intake of both fruits
and vegetables.
6
In fiscal year 2020, SNAP provided assistance to approximately 39.9 million people living in
20.5 million households across the US, in an average month.
7
SNAP benefits support individual
households by reducing the effects of poverty and increasing food security while supporting
economic activity across communities as SNAP benefits directly benefit farmers, retailers, food
processors and distributors, and their employees.
8
To be eligible for SNAP, households must have a gross monthly income at or below 130 percent
of the poverty line, have a net income at or below the poverty line, and have assets below certain
limits based on whether or not the household has a member aged 60 or older who has a
disability.
9
As of January 2023, 3,220,757 individuals, including 1,262,174 children and
1,017,860 elderly or disabled individuals, were receiving SNAP benefits in Florida.
10
SNAP Eligible Foods
The Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 defines eligible food under SNAP as any food or food
product intended for human consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods, and hot
food products prepared for immediate consumption, with some exceptions.
11
Nonfood items such
as pet foods, soaps, paper products, medicines and vitamins, household supplies, grooming
items, and cosmetics are ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.
12
Eligible foods include
junk foods such as soft drinks and candy.
13
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, available at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/short-history-snap (last visited March 10, 2023).
5
US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Overview. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-
program-snap/ (last visited March 10, 2023).
6
Food Expenditures and Diet Quality Among Low-Income Households and Individuals, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, July 2010, available at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/FoodExpendDietQuality_Summary.pdf (last visited March 10, 2023).
7
US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Characteristics of SNAP Households: FY 2020 and Early
Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Characteristics of SNAP Households, available at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/characteristics-snap-households-fy-2020-and-early-months-covid-19-pandemic-
characteristics (last visited March 10, 2023).
8
US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Economic
Linkages. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-
snap/economic-linkages/ (last visited March 10, 2023).
9
Canter on Budget Policy and Priorities, A Quick Guide to SNAP Eligibility and Benefits, available at
https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-quick-guide-to-snap-eligibility-and-benefits#_ftn5 (last visited March 10,
2023).
10
Email from Chad Corcoran, Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs, Department of Children and Families, Re: SNAP
Participants (March 2, 2023). On file with the Florida House Children, Families, and Seniors Subcommittee.
11
7 USC § 2012(k); see also 7 CFR § 271.2.
12
Id.
13
For an explanation of the inclusion of “junk food” and luxury items as eligible foods, see UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) Eligible Food Items, https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items (last visited March 10, 2023). BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 4
When considering the eligibility of vitamins and supplements, power bars, energy drinks and
other branded products, the primary determinant is the type of product label chosen by the
manufacturer to conform to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines:
Items that carry a nutrition facts label are eligible foods.
Items that carry a supplement facts label are classified by the FDA as supplements and are
therefore not eligible.
14
Campus Food Pantries
Nearly one third (29%) 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.
15
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.
16
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,
17
additional states
have formally passed Hunger-Free Campus legislation, including New Jersey,
18
Maryland,
19
Minnesota,
20
and Massachusetts.
21
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
SB 1172, the “Hunger-Free Campus Act,” creates the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program within
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (department). The purpose of the program
is to support efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of postsecondary educational institutions
and the program is established for one year beginning July 1, 2023.
14
Determining Product Eligibility for Purchase with SNAP Benefits, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, Jan. 26, 2017, available at
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/eligibility.pdf (last visited March 10, 2023).
15
Swipe Out Hunger, Swipe Out Hunger Acquires the College and University Food Bank Alliance (Oct. 21, 2021),
https://www.swipehunger.org/cufba/. (last visited March 10, 2023).
16
Feeding Florida, Mobile Pantries, https://www.feedingflorida.org/food-access/mobile-pantries. Feeding Florida consists of
12-member food banks within its mobile pantry program. (last visited March 10, 2023).
17
Cal. Educ. Code § 66027.8 (2017)
18
N.J. Stat. Ann. § 18A:62-60 (2019)
19
Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 11-1703 (2021)
20
Minn. Stat. Ann. § 135A.137 (2021)
21
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 15A, § 2 (2021) BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 5
The bill directs the Commissioner of Agriculture (commissioner) to identify the top three
institutions that have the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students among all state
universities and Florida College System institutions and those three shall participate in the
program.
The commissioner shall develop a survey instrument requiring all participating universities or
Florida College System institutions to:
Establish a hunger task force, which must include representatives from the student body and
meet at least three times during the life of the pilot program. The task force shall set at least
two goals to address hunger on campus, each accompanied by an action plan.
Designate a staff member responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Provide options that enable students to use SNAP benefits on campus or provide students
with information on authorized SNAP retailers in the area surrounding the campus where
they may use SNAP electronic benefit transfer cards.
Host an activity or event during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote
awareness of hunger on the nation’s campuses.
Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus or enable students to receive food at no
cost through a stigma-free process. The campus may partner with a local food bank or food
paragraph to comply with this requirement.
Develop a student meal credit donation program or designate funds that might be raised
through such a program for free food vouchers.
Conduct a student survey on hunger, using a survey instrument developed by the
commissioner, and submit the results of the survey and a best practices campus profile to the
department by a date prescribed by the department for inclusion in a comparative profile of
each campus designated as a hunger-free campus.
The bill requires each participating state university or Florida College System institution to
submit a report to the department which describes how it implemented the program. By January
1, 2025, the commissioner shall report on the program to the Governor, the President of the
Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The report shall include, but is not
limited to, the impact of the program on establishing hunger-free campuses at participating state
universities or Florida College System institutions; the impact of the program on reducing the
number of students at such universities and institutions who are experiencing food insecurity;
and recommendations regarding future funding and implementation of the program on a long-
term basis.
The department is granted rulemaking authority to implement the program.
The bill directs OPPAGA to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on the campuses of state
universities and Florida College System institutions. The study must include recommendations
for any changes to general law, Board of Governors’ rules and regulations, or State Board of
Education rules needed to address food insecurity on the campuses of state universities and
Florida College System institutions.
BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 6
OPPAGA must consult with the Board of Governors of the State University System, the
Department of Education, and any other relevant stakeholders to conduct the study. OPPAGA
shall submit a report on its findings to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives by December 1, 2023.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2023.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The bill has no impact on state revenues or expenditures. The pilot program is contingent
upon legislative appropriation.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None. BILL: CS/SB 1172 Page 7
VII. Related Issues:
None.
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill creates an unnumbered section of Florida Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Substantial Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
CS by Agriculture on March 13, 2023:
The committee substitute revises the entities that shall participate in the pilot program
from the top three among all state universities and Florida College System institutions
that have the highest number of Pell Grant-eligible students to the top three entities that
have the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.