Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Food Security topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to add college food-insecurity question; DHS will update SNAP guidance, sponsor says
Summary
Delegate Jared Solomon told the House Appropriations Committee the Department of Human Services agreed to update SNAP administration guidance to improve student eligibility; the bill would add an optional food-insecurity question to state financial-aid forms to help campuses target support.
Lawmakers heard testimony on the SNAP for Students Act, legislation aimed at improving food access for Maryland college students by adding an optional food-security question to the MCAPS financial-aid application and simplifying SNAP eligibility pathways for students.
Sponsor Delegate Jared Solomon told the House Appropriations Committee that many students who qualify for SNAP are not enrolled because of administrative barriers and timing of work-study placements. Solomon said the Department of Human Services agreed to update the SNAP manual with guidance that would address much of the proposed statutory change, leaving a single statutory addition: an optional question on the MCAPS application to allow students to self-identify recent food insecurity.
Advocates said campus outreach paired with the optional MCAPS question could connect students to campus food pantries and make SNAP enrollment easier. Brielle Penzini of Maryland Hunger Solutions told the committee that student SNAP eligibility is administratively complex and that the MCAPS question would help campuses identify and assist students who may qualify. Emily Dowell, assistant secretary for Academic Affairs at the Maryland Higher Education Commission, said MHEC supports the bill and noted changing student demographics increase the need to ensure food security among students.
A student witness, Nicole Holt, an undergraduate who receives SNAP, told lawmakers that the assistance allowed her to focus on school and said campus supports vary by university; she encouraged the committee to approve the bill.
Sponsor and agency testimony stressed cost control: Solomon said the agency agreed to handle most policy changes in guidance rather than statute, which reduces the fiscal exposure legislators often see when federal rules shift.
The committee took testimony and did not record a vote at the hearing.
Ending: Sponsor and witnesses asked the committee for a favorable report so campuses can more easily identify students in need and direct them to SNAP and campus resources.
