End Hunger on College Campuses

UPDATE:

The Hunger Free Campus Initiative was adopted by the Massachusetts Senate in July, 2022 – with unanimous consent! The Initiative is Outside Section 5A in the Senate’s Economic Development package. But we need the House members to agree to the Senate language when they pass the Economic Development bill before the end of 2022. This bill is supported through existing ARPA funding and has strong bipartisan support in both the Senate and House. Take action here! The virtual public hearing for our bill was held on October 7, 2021, and you can watch the full hearing here.

The Massachusetts Hunger-Free Campus Coalition (HFCC) was formed in the fall of 2019 to address food insecurity among high-need populations enrolled in Massachusetts public colleges and universities. Our goal is to ensure equity and incorporate student voices as we work to make Massachusetts college campuses hunger free.

37% of public university students in Massachusetts are food insecure, and only 20% of food insecure students utilize Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. (Source)

S.2811 and H.4697, sponsored by Senator Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester), Senator Joan Lovely (D-Salem), Representative Andy Vargas (D-Haverhill), and Representative Mindy Domb (D-Amherst) and Rep. Joan Meschino (D-Hull) would provide colleges the technical assistance and funding they need to address food insecurity on their campuses.