Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1916
By Senator Taddeo
40-00250B-22 20221916__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Hunger-Free Campus Grant
3 Program; providing a short title; creating s.
4 1004.092, F.S.; defining terms; establishing the
5 Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program within the Department
6 of Agriculture and Consumer Services; providing the
7 purpose of the grant program; requiring the
8 Commissioner of Agriculture to annually designate
9 eligible public postsecondary educational institution
10 campuses as Hunger-Free Campuses; providing that the
11 designation remains in place until the commissioner
12 makes a determination that a campus is no longer
13 eligible and revokes the designation; providing
14 eligibility requirements for a public postsecondary
15 educational institution to participate in the program;
16 providing modified requirements for certain
17 institutions; requiring the commissioner, subject to
18 the appropriation of funds, to award grants to public
19 postsecondary educational institutions that have one
20 or more campuses designated as a Hunger-Free Campus;
21 requiring the commissioner to determine grant amounts;
22 requiring the commissioner to prioritize grants to
23 public postsecondary educational institutions with the
24 highest percentages of eligible Pell Grant recipients
25 enrolled in the student body; specifying the purposes
26 for which grants must be used; requiring grant
27 recipients to submit reports to the department on how
28 grant awards were used; requiring the commissioner to
29 submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature by
30 a specified date; specifying requirements for the
31 report; requiring the department to adopt rules;
32 providing an effective date.
33
34 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
35
36 Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Hunger-Free Campus
37 Act.”
38 Section 2. Section 1004.092, Florida Statutes, is created
39 to read:
40 1004.092 Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program.—
41 (1) For purposes of this section, the term:
42 (a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture.
43 (b) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and
44 Consumer Services.
45 (2) The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program is established
46 within the department. The purpose of the program is to support
47 efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of public postsecondary
48 educational institutions.
49 (3) The commissioner shall annually designate as Hunger
50 Free Campuses those public postsecondary educational institution
51 campuses that meet the applicable eligibility requirements
52 specified in subsection (4). The designation remains in place
53 until the commissioner makes a determination that a campus is no
54 longer eligible and revokes the designation.
55 (4)(a) The administration of a public postsecondary
56 educational institution that awards baccalaureate or higher
57 degrees must do all of the following for the campus to be
58 eligible to participate in the program:
59 1. Establish a hunger task force, which includes
60 representatives from the student body and which meets a minimum
61 of three times each academic year, to set a minimum of two
62 annual goals to address hunger on campus, each with an action
63 plan.
64 2. Designate a staff member responsible for assisting
65 students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
66 Assistance Program (SNAP) as defined in s. 414.456(1).
67 3. Provide options for students to use SNAP benefits at
68 campus stores or provide students with information on
69 establishments in the area surrounding the campus where they can
70 use SNAP electronic benefits transfer cards.
71 4. Host an activity or event during Hunger and Homelessness
72 Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on this nation’s
73 campuses.
74 5. Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus or
75 enable students to receive food at no cost through a separate,
76 stigma-free process. The campus may partner with a local food
77 bank or food pantry to meet this requirement.
78 6. Develop a student meal credit donation program or
79 designate a certain amount of funds for free food vouchers which
80 might otherwise be raised through such a program.
81 7. Annually conduct a student survey on hunger, developed
82 by the department, and submit the results of the survey and a
83 best practices campus profile to the department at a date
84 prescribed by the department for inclusion in a comparative
85 profile of each campus designated as a Hunger-Free Campus.
86 (b) The administration of a public postsecondary
87 educational institution that awards degrees no higher than an
88 associate degree must meet the requirements of subparagraphs
89 (a)1., 2., 4., 5., and 7. for the campus to be eligible for
90 participation in the program.
91 (5)(a) Subject to the appropriation of funds by the
92 Legislature, the commissioner shall award grants on a
93 competitive basis to public postsecondary educational
94 institutions that have one or more campuses designated as a
95 Hunger-Free Campus.
96 (b) The commissioner shall determine the amount of each
97 grant, prioritizing grants made to public postsecondary
98 educational institutions with the highest percentages of
99 eligible Pell Grant recipients enrolled in the student body.
100 (c) Grants awarded pursuant to this subsection must be used
101 to:
102 1. Address student hunger;
103 2. Promote sustainable solutions to address basic food
104 needs on campus;
105 3. Raise awareness of services currently offered on campus
106 which address basic food needs; and
107 4. Build partnerships at the local, state, and national
108 levels to address food insecurity among public postsecondary
109 students.
110 (d) Grant recipients shall submit a report to the
111 department, in the manner the department prescribes, which
112 describes how grant awards were used.
113 (6) The commissioner shall submit a report on the program
114 to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of
115 the House of Representatives by July 1, 2024. The report must
116 include, but need not be limited to, the number and amounts of
117 grants awarded; the impact of the program on establishing
118 Hunger-Free Campuses at public postsecondary educational
119 institutions; the impact of the program on reducing the number
120 of students experiencing food insecurity; and recommendations
121 regarding funding for the program.
122 (7) The department shall adopt rules to implement the
123 program.
124 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022.