Mack Bernard proposes pilot program to combat student hunger

A proposed pilot program would help feed hungry students in Florida’s public colleges and universities.

West Palm Beach Democratic Sen. Mack Bernard filed a bill (SB 980) that would launch an initiative called the “Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program” within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to combat hunger on campuses and provide support for efforts to reduce food insecurity among students.

The Agriculture Commissioner would be required to identify three state universities or Florida College System institutions with the highest percentage of Pell Grant-eligible students to participate in the pilot program, and would adopt rules to implement the program.

A participating state college or university in the pilot program would be required to establish a hunger task force that would need to include representatives from the student body and hold meetings at least three times during the course of the program. The task force would be required to set at least two goals to address hunger on campus, each accompanied by an action plan.

Furthermore, staff members would be designated to be responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), provide options that enable students to use SNAP benefits on campus, or provide students with information on authorized SNAP retailers in the area surrounding the campus where they would be able to use SNAP benefit transfer cards.

The pilot program would host an activity or event during the Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on the nation’s campuses, and provide at least one physical food pantry on campus, or enable students to receive food at no cost through a stigma-free process.

Campuses would be able to partner with local food banks or food pantries and would be required to develop a student meal credit donation program or designate funds that might be raised through a program for free food vouchers.

Participating institutions must report to the Department on program implementation and results, while the Commissioner would be required to submit a report to the Governor and Legislature by Jan. 1, 2027, detailing the program’s impact and recommendations for future funding and implementation.

The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) would evaluate food insecurity on campuses through a study and would be required to include recommendations for any changes to general law, Board of Governors’ regulations, or State Board of Education rules needed to address food insecurity on campuses.

OPPAGA would further be required to submit a report on its findings to the Legislature by Dec. 1, 2025.

If passed, the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program would be established beginning July 1 and would run for a duration of one year.

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