AN ACT to establish the hunger‑free campus initiative for university of north carolina CONSTITUENT institutions and community college campuses to respond to the impacts on students during the covid‑19 pandemic and to appropriate funds from the CORONAVIRUS STATE FISCAL RECOVERY FUND for the program.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Definitions. – For the purposes of this act, the following definitions apply:

(1)        Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. – Funds received by the State of North Carolina during the 2021‑2022 fiscal year from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund created by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, P.L. 117‑2.

(2)        COVID‑19. – Coronavirus disease 2019.

SECTION 2.  Initiative Established. – The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina and the State Board of Community Colleges shall establish the Hunger‑Free Campus Initiative (Initiative) at constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina and community colleges under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Community Colleges, respectively, to address student hunger and food insecurity occurring during the COVID‑19 pandemic due to closures and restrictions to access on campuses and dining halls and the increasing unemployment for students and their families. Constituent institutions and community colleges may use the funds made available to them pursuant to this act to effectively respond to the needs of students by establishing new programs, expanding on existing programs, and utilizing community resources on their campuses and in other community locations providing access to students. Constituent institutions and community colleges may implement the following policies and strategies to respond to COVID‑19 impacts on students and their ability to access meal resources during the COVID‑19 pandemic:

(1)        Designate a campus employee to help ensure that students have the information necessary to locate meal options appropriate for their resources, including facilitating food delivery, if necessary.

(2)        Provide for an on‑campus food pantry or regular food distributions to campus or community locations. A campus may partner with a local food bank or food pantry to meet this requirement.

(3)        For constituent institutions for the 2021‑2022 academic year and subsequent academic years, establish a meal‑sharing program that allows students to voluntarily donate their unused meal plan credits to be distributed for use by students in need to support an on‑campus food pantry. Each campus shall establish the parameters of their meal‑sharing program and make them publicly available to students and interested parties. The program information made publicly available shall include at least the following:

a.         How a student may donate his or her unused meal plan credits.

b.         How a low‑income student can apply to receive donated meal plan credits.

c.         The methodology for determining how unused meal plan credits that are not used by a student in need or how food purchased using these unused meal plan credits will be donated to support the on‑campus food pantry, which shall be established by campus officials in consultation with pantry staff and volunteers, including student volunteers.

d.         The campus employee designated pursuant to subdivision (1) of this section.

(4)        Designate a campus employee as a point‑of‑contact to work with student volunteers for the meal‑sharing program described in subdivision (3) of this section to assist students.

SECTION 3.(a)  Funds for Constituent Institutions. – The sum of one million six hundred thousand dollars ($1,600,000) in nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund to the Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina to be allocated to each constituent institution in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to implement the Hunger‑Free Campus Initiative in accordance with this act.

SECTION 3.(b)  Funds for Community Colleges. – The sum of five million eight hundred thousand dollars ($5,800,000) is appropriated from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund to the Community Colleges System Office to be allocated to each community college campus in the amount of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) to implement the Hunger‑Free Campus Initiative in accordance with this act.

SECTION 3.(c)  Use of Funds. – Of the funds appropriated from the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund by this act, funds shall only be used for necessary eligible expenditures in accordance with federal law and guidance. These funds shall be available for expenditure until the deadline set by applicable federal law.

SECTION 4.  Reports. – By February 15, 2024, the Board of Governors and the State Board of Community Colleges, respectively, shall report to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Education/Higher Education, the House Appropriations Committee on Education, the Fiscal Research Division, and the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on the implementation of the Hunger‑Free Initiatives on their campuses and the use of the appropriated funds made available pursuant to this act, including recommendations for the potential implementation of permanent programs to address ongoing student hunger and food insecurity and the need for State funds to continue or expand programs beyond the duration of the COVID‑19 pandemic.

SECTION 5.  This act is effective when it becomes law.