Florida Senate - 2023 SB 1172
By Senator Calatayud
38-00943A-23 20231172__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot
3 Program; providing a short title; establishing the
4 pilot program within the Department of Agriculture and
5 Consumer Services for a specified period; providing
6 the purpose of the pilot program; defining the terms
7 “commissioner” and “department”; requiring the
8 Commissioner of Agriculture to identify the three
9 state universities or Florida College System
10 institutions with the highest number of Pell Grant
11 eligible students for participation in the pilot
12 program; requiring the commissioner to develop a
13 specified survey instrument; providing requirements
14 for participating universities and institutions;
15 requiring participating universities and institutions
16 to submit a report to the department; requiring the
17 commissioner to submit a report to the Governor and
18 the Legislature by a specified date; specifying
19 requirements for the reports; authorizing the
20 department to adopt rules; requiring the Office of
21 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
22 to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on the
23 campuses of state universities and Florida College
24 System institutions; providing requirements for the
25 office and the study; requiring the office to submit a
26 report to the Legislature by a specified date;
27 providing an effective date.
28
29 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
30
31 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Hunger-Free Campus
32 Act.”
33 Section 2. (1) Subject to legislative appropriation, the
34 Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program is established within the
35 Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to support
36 efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of public postsecondary
37 educational institutions. The program is established for a
38 period of 1 year, beginning July 1, 2023.
39 (2) For purposes of this section, the term:
40 (a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture.
41 (b) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and
42 Consumer Services.
43 (3)(a) The commissioner shall identify from among all state
44 universities and Florida College System institutions the three
45 that have the highest number of Pell Grant-eligible students,
46 which universities or institutions shall participate in the
47 program.
48 (b) The commissioner shall also develop the survey
49 instrument described in subsection (4).
50 (4) A participating state university or Florida College
51 System institution shall:
52 (a) Establish a hunger task force, which must include
53 representatives from the student body and meet at least three
54 times during the life of the pilot program. The task force shall
55 set at least two goals to address hunger on campus, each
56 accompanied by an action plan.
57 (b) Designate a staff member responsible for assisting
58 students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
59 Assistance Program (SNAP) as defined in s. 414.456(1), Florida
60 Statutes.
61 (c) Provide options that enable students to use SNAP
62 benefits on campus or provide students with information on
63 authorized SNAP retailers in the area surrounding the campus
64 where they may use SNAP electronic benefit transfer cards.
65 (d) Host an activity or event during Hunger and
66 Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on
67 the nation’s campuses.
68 (e) Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus or
69 enable students to receive food at no cost through a stigma-free
70 process. The campus may partner with a local food bank or food
71 pantry to comply with this paragraph.
72 (f) Develop a student meal credit donation program or
73 designate funds that might be raised through such a program for
74 free food vouchers.
75 (g) Conduct a student survey on hunger, using a survey
76 instrument developed by the commissioner, and submit the results
77 of the survey and a best practices campus profile to the
78 department by a date prescribed by the department for inclusion
79 in a comparative profile of each campus designated as a hunger
80 free campus.
81 (5)(a) Each participating state university or Florida
82 College System institution shall submit a report to the
83 department, in a manner prescribed by the department, which
84 describes how it implemented the program and the program
85 results.
86 (b) The commissioner shall submit a report on the program
87 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
88 the House of Representatives by January 1, 2025. The report must
89 include, but need not be limited to, the impact of the program
90 on establishing hunger-free campuses at participating state
91 universities or Florida College System institutions; the impact
92 of the program on reducing the number of students at such
93 universities and institutions who are experiencing food
94 insecurity; and recommendations regarding future funding and
95 implementation of the program on a long-term basis.
96 (6) The department may adopt rules to implement the
97 program.
98 Section 3. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
99 Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study to
100 evaluate food insecurity on the campuses of state universities
101 and Florida College System institutions.
102 (2) The study must include recommendations for any changes
103 to general law, Board of Governors’ rules and regulations, or
104 State Board of Education rules needed to address food insecurity
105 on the campuses of state universities and Florida College System
106 institutions.
107 (3) In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult with the
108 Board of Governors of the State University System, the board of
109 trustees of the Florida College System, the Department of
110 Education, and any other relevant stakeholders.
111 (4) OPPAGA shall submit a report on its findings to the
112 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
113 Representatives by December 1, 2023.
114 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.