A BILL to direct the Department of Social Services, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Health, and the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to convene a work group to develop a survey on food insecurity and hunger; report.
HB866 directs several Virginia state agencies — including the Department of Social Services, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Health, and the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services — to convene a stakeholder work group to develop a statewide survey on food insecurity and hunger. The work group is instructed to coordinate, where possible, with statewide and national anti-hunger organizations and to consider survey questions that can help replace data lost from the discontinuation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Report.
The bill also directs the work group to align its survey design, when possible, with states of similar population and diversity so Virginia can establish comparative benchmarks. The group must report its findings to the Governor and General Assembly by December 1, 2026.
The bill does not create a new benefit program or change eligibility rules; instead, it requires interagency coordination and a report to inform future policy on hunger and food insecurity. Its main legal effect is to direct specified executive agencies and any other relevant state agencies to participate in a stakeholder work group and produce a statewide survey framework, with a reporting deadline to the Governor and General Assembly. It is intended to help fill a data gap left by the end of the USDA Household Food Security Report and could influence future appropriations, program design, or anti-hunger policy decisions.
The available record shows no committee debate or recorded votes, so there is no documented opposition or support beyond the bill’s introduction and referral. Based on the bill’s purpose, the measure appears policy-oriented and informational rather than controversial, aiming to improve state data collection on hunger and food insecurity. Its referral to Rules and lack of further action suggest it did not advance during the available legislative history.
The main substantive issue is whether Virginia should create its own survey infrastructure to replace data lost from the discontinued USDA Household Food Security Report, and whether the proposed approach will produce reliable, comparable data. Potential points of concern could include the administrative burden on multiple agencies, the usefulness of a state-level survey compared with federal data, and how closely Virginia can align its questions with other states for benchmarking. No specific opponents or supporters are identified in the provided materials.