CS/HB 1555 - Hunger-Free Campus Act

• Establishes a 1-year Hunger-Free Campus Pilot Program within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, effective July 1, 2023, subject to legislative appropriation.

• Requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to select three state universities or Florida College System institutions with the highest percentage of Pell Grant recipients to participate in the program.

• Participating institutions must establish hunger task forces, designate SNAP enrollment staff, provide physical food pantries or stigma-free food distribution, facilitate SNAP benefit use at campus locations, host Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week events, develop meal credit donation programs, and conduct department-developed student hunger surveys.

• Participating institutions must submit implementation reports to the Department of Agriculture, and the Commissioner must report to the Governor and Legislature by January 1, 2025, including program impact, food insecurity reduction, and funding recommendations.

• Requires the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct a study evaluating food insecurity across Florida College System institutions and state universities, with recommendations for legal or regulatory changes, due to the Legislature by December 1, 2023.