Read the full stored bill text
Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 534
By
Senator Bernard
24-00965-26 2026534__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Hunger-Free Campus Pilot
3 Program; providing a short title; establishing,
4 subject to legislative appropriation, the pilot
5 program within the Department of Agriculture and
6 Consumer Services for a specified period; providing
7 the purpose of the pilot program; defining the terms
8 “commissioner” and “department”; requiring the
9 Commissioner of Agriculture to identify the three
10 state universities or Florida College System
11 institutions with the highest percentage of Pell
12 Grant-eligible students for participation in the pilot
13 program; requiring the commissioner to develop a
14 specified survey instrument; providing requirements
15 for participating universities and institutions;
16 requiring participating universities and institutions
17 to submit a report to the department; requiring the
18 commissioner to submit a report to the Governor and
19 the Legislature by a specified date; specifying
20 requirements for the report; authorizing the
21 department to adopt rules; requiring the Office of
22 Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
23 to conduct a study to evaluate food insecurity on the
24 campuses of state universities and Florida College
25 System institutions; providing requirements for the
26 office and the study; requiring the office to submit a
27 report to the Legislature by a specified date;
28 providing an effective date.
29
30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
31
32 Section 1.
This act may be cited as the “Hunger-Free Campus
33
Act.”
34 Section 2.
(1) Subject to legislative appropriation, the
35
Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program is established within the
36
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to support
37
efforts to fight hunger on the campuses of public postsecondary
38
educational institutions. The
pilot
program is established for a
39
period of 1 year
,
beginning July 1, 202
6
.
40
(2) For purposes of this section, the term:
41
(a) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Agriculture.
42
(b) “Department” means the Department of Agriculture and
43
Consumer Services.
44
(3)
(a)
The commissioner shall
identify
from among all
state
45
universities
and
Florida College System institutions
the three
46
that have
the highest
percentage
of Pell Grant-eligible
47
students
, which universities or institutions shall participate
48
in the
pilot
program.
49
(b) The commissioner shall also develop the survey
50
instrument described in subsection (4).
51
(4) A participating state university or Florida College
52
System institution shall:
53
(a) Establish a hunger task force, which
must
include
54
representatives from the student body and meet at least three
55
times during the
life of the pilot
program
. The task force shall
56
set at least two goals to address hunger on campus, each
57
accompanied by
an action plan.
58
(b) Designate a staff member responsible for assisting
59
students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
60
Assistance Program (SNAP) as defined in s. 414.456(1), Florida
61
Statutes.
62
(c) Provide options
that enable
students to use SNAP
63
benefits
on
campus or provide students with information on
64
authorized SNAP retailers
in the area surrounding the campus
65
where
they
may
use SNAP electronic benefit transfer cards.
66
(d) Host an activity or event during Hunger and
67
Homelessness Awareness Week to promote awareness of hunger on
68
the nation’s campuses.
69
(e) Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus or
70
enable students to receive food at no cost through a stigma-free
71
process. The campus may partner with a local food bank or food
72
pantry to
comply with this paragraph
.
73
(f) Develop a student meal credit donation program or
74
designate funds
that might be raised through such a program
for
75
free food vouchers.
76
(g) Conduct a student survey on hunger,
using a survey
77
instrument
developed by the
commissioner
, and submit the results
78
of the survey and a best practices campus profile to the
79
department
by
a date prescribed by the department for inclusion
80
in a comparative profile of each campus designated as a hunger
81
free campus.
82
(5)(a) Each participating state university or Florida
83
College System institution shall submit a report to the
84
department, in
a
manner
prescribed by the
department, which
85
describes how
it
implemented the
pilot
program and the
program
86
results.
87
(b) The commissioner shall submit a report on the
pilot
88
program to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the
89
Speaker of the House of Representatives by January 1, 202
8
. The
90
report must include, but need not be limited to, the impact of
91
the program on establishing hunger-free campuses at
92
participating state universities or Florida College System
93
institutions; the impact of the program on reducing the number
94
of students
at such universities and institutions who are
95
experiencing food insecurity; and recommendations regarding
96
future funding and implementation
of
the program
on a long-term
97
basis
.
98
(6) The department may adopt rules to implement the
99
program.
100 Section 3.
(1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and
101
Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study to
102
evaluate food insecurity on the campuses of state universities
103
and
Florida College System institutions.
104
(2) The study must include recommendations for any changes
105
to general law, Board of Governor
s’
regulations, or State Board
106
of Education rules needed to address food insecurity on the
107
campuses of state universities
and
Florida College System
108
institutions.
109
(3) In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult with the
110
Board of Governors of the State University System,
the board of
111
trustees of
the Florida College System, the Department of
112
Education, and any other relevant stakeholders.
113
(4) OPPAGA shall submit a report on its findings to the
114
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
115
Representatives by December 1, 202
6
.
116 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.