To enact section 3333.47 of the Revised Code to enact the Hunger-Free Campus Act to establish the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program and designation and to make an appropriation.
Summary
HB157 would create Ohio’s Hunger-Free Campus Act and direct the Chancellor of Higher Education to establish and administer a Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program and designation. The program would be available to state institutions of higher education and qualifying private nonprofit colleges. Institutions could apply both for a designation and for grants, and the chancellor would set the application process, reapplication schedule, and criteria for earning the designation.
The bill identifies several possible designation criteria, including maintaining an on-campus food pantry or food bank partnership, providing students information about SNAP, Medicaid, and other assistance programs, offering emergency aid grants, and operating a meal-plan credit donation program. It also requires the chancellor to create a logo for designated campuses, allows grant funds to be used flexibly for emergency assistance, staffing, and operations, and requires annual reporting by grant recipients on use of funds and effects on student food insecurity. The chancellor would also submit a compiled report to the Governor and General Assembly two years after the program is established.
Impact
HB157 would add a new section to the Revised Code, section 3333.47, and create a new state-administered grant and designation program within the Department of Higher Education. It appropriates $625,000 in General Revenue Fund dollars in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 for the program, and authorizes the Chancellor of Higher Education to adopt rules to implement it. The bill would affect public universities and qualifying private nonprofit colleges by giving them a pathway to receive state support for food insecurity initiatives and by setting conditions on how grant funds may be used and reported.
Sentiment
The bill appears generally supportive and policy-oriented, with no recorded committee testimony or votes showing opposition in the provided materials. Its framing suggests broad interest in addressing student food insecurity through grants, campus designations, and coordination with existing public benefits and campus support systems. Because the bill is only introduced and has not yet advanced in the provided record, there is no clear evidence of formal support or resistance beyond the bill’s sponsors and cosponsors.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is how the grant program would be administered and prioritized, especially the preference for institutions with higher shares of Pell Grant-eligible students versus the chancellor’s discretion to favor applications expected to have greater impact on food-insecure students. Another possible issue is the requirement that institutions not reduce existing food-insecurity funding in order to shift costs onto the new grant program, which may raise questions about enforcement and compliance. The bill also gives the chancellor broad rulemaking authority and exempts those rules from certain regulatory restriction review provisions, which could draw scrutiny from those concerned about administrative discretion.
To amend sections 3517.12, 3517.13, and 3517.155 of the Revised Code to modify the Campaign Finance Law regarding foreign nationals and statewide initiatives and referenda and to declare an emergency.
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