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Subcommittee unanimously approves Hunger Free Campus pilot to address college student food insecurity
Summary
The Florida House Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee unanimously passed HB 1, 2, 4, 5 to create a Hunger Free Campus pilot program in the Department of Agriculture and direct OPAGA to study student food insecurity at public postsecondary institutions.
The Florida House Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee on May 1 unanimously approved HB 1, 2, 4, 5, the “Hunger Free Campus pilot program,” which would establish a state pilot to combat food insecurity among public postsecondary students.
The bill would create the Hunger Free Campus pilot within the Department of Agriculture. The department would select three public postsecondary institutions for the pilot, prioritize campuses with the highest percentage of Pell Grant recipients, require participating institutions to establish hunger task forces, assist students with SNAP enrollment, provide on-campus food assistance, and develop meal-credit donation programs. The bill also directs the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) to study food insecurity at all public postsecondary institutions and recommend policy changes to improve student food access.
Representative Chambliss, the bill sponsor, described the measure as aimed at “the struggling college student who is trying hard to make ends meet.” Representative Franklin, speaking in debate, said the pilot will “bring back some good data and help folks be able to have full bellies while they're trying to attain higher education.” There was no public testimony on the bill.
Chair Michelle Salzman closed debate and the committee clerk called the roll. The committee recorded a unanimous roll-call vote in favor of the bill (17-0). The chair instructed that the bill “passes unanimously.”
The pilot is intended to create campus-level programs and collect information that OPPAGA will use to recommend statewide policy options. The bill text names the Department of Agriculture as the implementing agency and specifies selection criteria based on the percentage of Pell Grant recipients; it does not specify funding sources or effective dates in the committee hearing. Those implementation details and any required appropriations would be resolved later in the legislative process.
The committee meeting included no public opposition and limited debate; committee members praised the measure as a straightforward data-gathering and assistance pilot. The bill will proceed from subcommittee to the next committee or the House floor according to the House calendar.
