PRINTER'S NO. 3113
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2205
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY KENYATTA, O'MARA, MURT, PASHINSKI, KOSIEROWSKI,
HILL-EVANS, T. DAVIS, DONATUCCI, SCHLOSSBERG, KINSEY, HOWARD,
McCLINTON, SHUSTERMAN, HANBIDGE, STURLA, MADDEN, VITALI,
KORTZ, SANCHEZ AND ROEBUCK, JANUARY 10, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JANUARY 10, 2020
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
2 act relating to the public school system, including certain
3 provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
4 schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
5 laws relating thereto," in miscellaneous provisions relating
6 to institutions of higher education, establishing the Hunger-
7 Free Campus Grant Program and the Hunger-Free Campus Grant
8 Fund.
9 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
10 hereby enacts as follows:
11 Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
12 as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
13 section to read:
14 Section 2002-I. Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program.
15 (a) Establishment.--The Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program is
16 established within the Department of Education for the purposes
17 under subsection (b).
18 (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Hunger-Free Campus Grant
19 Program shall be to provide grants to public institutions of
20 higher education that have one or more campuses designated by
 1 the Secretary of Education as hunger-free campuses under
2 subsection (c). The purpose of the grant funding shall be to:
3 (1) Address student hunger.
4 (2) Leverage more sustainable solutions to address basic
5 food needs on campus.
6 (3) Raise awareness of services currently offered on
7 campus which address basic food needs.
8 (4) Continue to build strategic partnerships at the
9 Federal, State and local levels to address food insecurity
10 among students.
11 (c) Hunger-free campus designation.--In order to be
12 designated as a hunger-free campus, a public institution of
13 higher education shall:
14 (1) Establish a hunger task force that meets a minimum
15 of three times per academic year to set at least two goals
16 with action plans.
17 (2) Designate a staff member responsible for assisting
18 students with enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition
19 Assistance Program (SNAP).
20 (3) Provide options for students to utilize SNAP
21 benefits at campus stores.
22 (4) Participate in an awareness day campaign activity
23 and plan a campus awareness event during the National Hunger
24 and Homelessness Awareness Week.
25 (5) Provide at least one physical food pantry on campus
26 or enable students to receive food through a separate,
27 stigma-free arrangement.
28 (6) Develop a "Swipe Out Hunger" student meal credit
29 sharing program or designate a certain amount of money for
30 free meal vouchers that might otherwise be raised through a
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 1 "Swipe Out Hunger" program.
2 (7) Annually conduct a student survey on hunger,
3 developed by the Department of Education, and submit the
4 results of the survey to the Secretary of Education at a time
5 prescribed by the Secretary of Education for inclusion in a
6 comparative profile of each campus designated as a hunger-
7 free campus. In the development of the survey, the Department
8 of Education may utilize any existing surveys designed to
9 collect information on food insecurity among students
10 enrolled in public institutions of higher education.
11 (d) Allocation.--The Secretary of Education shall allocate
12 grant funding to each public institution of higher education
13 that has one or more campuses designated by the Secretary of
14 Education as a hunger-free campus as provided under subsection
15 (c). The Secretary of Education, or a designee, shall determine
16 the amount of each grant which shall be used by the public
17 institution of higher education to further address food
18 insecurity among students enrolled in the public institution of
19 higher education.
20 (e) Report.--The Department of Education shall submit a
21 report to the Governor, the chair and minority chair of the
22 Education Committee of the Senate, and the chair and minority
23 chair of the Education Committee of the House of Representatives
24 no later than two years after the establishment of the Hunger-
25 Free Campus Grant Program. The report shall include, but not be
26 limited to, the number and amounts of the grant awards, the
27 impact the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program had on establishing
28 additional hunger-free campuses at public institutions of higher
29 education and reducing the number of students experiencing food
30 insecurity and recommendations on the expansion of the Hunger-
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 1 Free Campus Grant Program.
2 (f) Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund.--The Hunger-Free Campus
3 Grant Fund is established as a special fund in the State
4 Treasury. The following shall apply to the operation of the
5 fund:
6 (1) Money in the fund shall be appropriated on a
7 continuing basis to the Department of Education for the
8 purpose of awarding grants under this section.
9 (2) The sum of $1,000,000 shall be transferred from the
10 General Fund to the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund to be used
11 exclusively for the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Fund.
12 (g) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
13 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
14 subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
15 "Public institution of higher education." Any of the
16 following:
17 (1) A community college operating under Article XIX-A.
18 (2) A rural regional college established under Article
19 XIX-G.
20 (3) A university within the State System of Higher
21 Education under Article XX-A.
22 (4) A State-related institution as defined in section
23 2001-C.
24 (5) The Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology.
25 (6) The Pennsylvania College of Technology.
26 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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Statutes/Laws affected:
Printer's No. 3113: P.L.30, No.14