Subcommittee adopts substitute for campus pantry bill, adds meal-swipe donation option

The Senate Higher Education Subcommittee voted to recommend SB 97, a bill to support campus food pantries and, in its substituted form, to add conditional language and a provision concerning meal-swipe programs.

Senator Rohm said the substitute makes two revisions to the bill's text adding "if applicable" at line 31 and a clause at line 41 addressing institutions that "offer a meal swipe program or equivalent student meal swipe plan." He described the goal as ensuring students across campus have access to food, whether at a pantry or in the lunch line. The sponsor said 48 of 63 eligible public and private institutions applied for the earlier food pantry grant funding and that awards are allocated by need across four tiers; the transcript lists Tier 1 as 14,881 and Tier 4 as 5,952.

The substitute was adopted by voice vote and the bill was moved and seconded for reporting to the full committee. Hannah Wyatt of the Virginia Poverty Law Center spoke in support of the bill on the record.

Next step: SB 97 will be considered by the full Senate committee at its next scheduled meeting.