Pulse On Ohio

October 2025

Issue 2

Legislative Review: Enact the Hunger Free Campus Act

Bill Overview & Summary

Ohio House Bill 157 titled the Enact the Hunger Free Campus Act is a bill that was introduced by Representative Sean P. Brennan and Representative James M. Hoops on March 6th, 2025 and referred to the Workforce and Higher Education Committee on March 19th, 2025. This bill tackles student food insecurity impacting college students in the state of Ohio. If enacted, it would address hunger as a barrier to student and career success by setting up a new program called the Hunger-Free Campus Grant Program and Designation that would be overseen by the Chancellor at the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

The Connection to Career Success

Students struggling to meet basic needs can't focus on their studies, their internships, or their job search. Food insecurity is a significant challenge impacting student well-being, and research indicates it is strongly associated with adverse academic outcomes; for example, food-insecure students have been found to be over 40% less likely to graduate from college compared to their food-secure peers (Wolfson et al., 2021). This policy aims to remove the obstacle of food insecurity on campuses in Ohio.

Program Details

If the bill makes its way out of the Workforce and Higher Education Committee, passes both chambers of the Ohio legislature, and is signed by the Governor, the newly enacted program law would require the Chancellor to create a program where public and private colleges and universities in Ohio can apply to get two things: a formal "Hunger-Free Campus" designation and grant money to support their efforts. To earn the “Hunger-Free Campus” designation, colleges and universities will need to meet certain standards. The bill suggests the criteria could include things that directly impact Ohio’s college students including:

1. Creation of on-campus food access through a food pantry or a steady, reliable partnership with a local food bank to do regular distributions.

2. Colleges and Universities must provide resource navigation including information on applying for major public benefits like SNAP (food stamps) and Medicaid.

This bill, if enacted in its current state, would establish a foundational safety net, promote collaboration among partner organizations, and reduce hunger across college campuses in Ohio allowing students to focus on their educational pursuits and careers, not their next meal. The program is specifically designed to address significant non-academic factors that can impede student success. This approach shifts the focus beyond typical advising services, such as resume support, to prioritize the development of a stable foundation that is crucial for long-term achievement and positive student outcomes.

This bill has the potential to impact two of the Ohio Career Development Association’s constituency groups, including the “Higher Education Career Counselors/Coaches/Specialists” and the “Graduate Students/Counselor Educators & Researchers” groups. If you have questions about or would like to learn more about it, we recommend contacting your legislators by entering your address in the Ohio Legislator’s District Map site.

If there’s a piece of legislation you would like highlighted in this column, Pulse on Ohio, from the OCDA Government Relations committee, please send it our way! We welcome suggestions from committee members for bills to track, analyze, or write about. Your input helps ensure we’re covering the issues that matter most to our members. Please email your suggestions to Sarah and Newton.