Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Food Security Higher Ed topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee advances Hunger Free Campus Act to allow public and private institutions to set up campus food-security programs
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 273 as amended to create a voluntary "Hunger Free Campus" designation for institutions of higher education, expand eligibility to private institutions, and establish a task force and optional fund to help campuses set up food banks; members discussed a $200,000 funding request that was not included in the current
The House Ways and Means Education Committee approved House Bill 273, the Hunger Free Campus Act, as amended to allow private two- and four-year institutions to participate on a voluntary basis.
A committee member said she was carrying the bill on behalf of Representative Collins. The measure creates a process for public institutions — and now, as amended, private institutions — to seek designation as a "Hunger Free Campus." To qualify, an institution must establish a hunger-free task force that meets specified requirements: at least two students, a student-affairs representative, a financial-aid office representative and other members the institution designates; the task force must meet at least three times a year and adopt at least two goals and an action plan.
Sponsor and ACHE representatives said the national model has criteria for campus food-security initiatives and that Auburn and the University of Alabama have already implemented successful local programs. ACHE staff described the program as a way to expand campus food banks and noted that some campuses would need renovations and industrial refrigeration to operate food banks effectively. The sponsor said the committee requested $200,000 in the budget to seed campus efforts but that funding was not included in the current appropriation; the bill itself establishes the process and a fund that could be used if funding is appropriated later.
An amendment added private institutions to participate permissively. The committee adopted the amendment and subsequently voted to report the bill favorably. Representative Baker moved the final motion and Representative Drummond seconded; members voted by voice and the bill was given a favorable report.
