Bill > S3239

Introduced Session

This bill requires the Secretary of Higher Education to establish a Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program to address the issue of food insecurity among students enrolled in public institutions of higher education. Under the bill, grants will be provided to institutions that have one or more campuses that are designated by the secretary as hunger-free campuses. The purpose of the grant funding is to: · address student hunger; · leverage more sustainable solutions to address basic food needs on campus; · raise awareness of services currently offered on campus which address basic food needs; and · continue to build strategic partnerships at the local, State, and national levels to address food insecurity among students. In order to be designated as a hunger-free campus, the institution is required to, at a minimum: · establish a hunger task force that meets a minimum of three times per academic year to set at least two goals with action plans; · designate a staff member responsible for assisting students with enrollment in the New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); · provide options for students to utilize SNAP benefits at campus stores; · provide at least one physical food pantry on campus, or enable students to receive food through a separate, stigma-free arrangement; and · develop a "Swipe Out Hunger" student meal credit sharing program, or designate a certain amount of funds for free meal vouchers that might otherwise be raised through a "Swipe Out Hunger" program. Under the bill, the secretary will allocate grant funding to each public institution of higher education that has one or more campuses designated by the secretary as a hunger-free campus. The secretary will determine the amount of each grant which will be used by the institution to further address food insecurity among students enrolled in the institution. The bill also requires the secretary to submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature no later than two years after the establishment of the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program. The report will include information on the number and amounts of the grant awards, the impact the grant program has had on establishing additional hunger-free campuses at public institutions of higher education and reducing the number of students experiencing food insecurity, and recommendations on the expansion of the grant program. The bill appropriates the sum of $1 million from the General Fund to the Department of State for the grant program.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Sandra Cunningham (D)*,  Teresa Ruiz (D)*,  Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D),  Fred Madden (D),  Nellie Pou (D), 

Substituted by A4702 (1R) (on 02/21/2019)