HB273 Hunger-Free Campus Act Summary

• Creates a designation program for higher education institutions to become "hunger-free campuses" administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

• Requires designated institutions to establish a hunger-free task force meeting at least three times per academic year with student and staff representatives, and to set at least two annual program goals.

• Mandates institutions provide SNAP benefit information to students, hold annual food insecurity awareness events, operate physical food pantries or information about community pantries, and offer meal credit donation programs or free food vouchers.

• Designations are valid for two years and renewable for additional two-year periods; institutions failing to meet renewal criteria have 45 days to correct deficiencies or lose designation.

• Authorizes competitive grants to designated institutions for equipment and supplies including refrigeration and shelving for food pantries, prioritizing institutions with highest percentages of Pell Grant recipients; effective October 1, 2025.