SB 155 — Establishing Summer Feeding for All Program

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION IntroducedCommittee Substitute for Senate Bill 155 ByBYS SenatorENATORSW WoelfelOELFEL, [IntroducedRADY,AND FebruaryGARCIA 12,[Reported 2025;March 5, 2025, from the Committee on Education] CS for SB 155 A BILL to amend and reenact §18-5D-6 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring every county public school system to conduct an annual countywide survey of public school students to determine their non-school eating patterns and the availability of nutritious food to them when schools are closed;

referredrequiring each county board to collect and compile information regarding availability of food resources in the Committeecounty onduring Education;non- school days and distribute this information to all students;

andrequiring theneach tocounty theboard Committeeto onprovide Finance]its Intrsurvey, SBa 155summary 2025R1034of Aits BILLactivities, to amend and reenactany §18-5D-6findings ofor recommendations the Codecounty ofschool Westboard Virginia,has 1931,related asthereto amended, relating to establishing the SummerWest FeedingVirginia forOffice Allof Program;Child Nutrition;

providingand findings;removing authority for each public school to include in its crisis response plan an assessment and plan to feed students during noninstructional or nontraditional remote learning days and public virtual school students that includes emergency situations that may require innovative ways to deliver food to student homes.

directing a county- by-county assessment of non-school day student initiative;

addressing food insecurities;

empowering county school boards to develop initiatives and programs for feeding students in need during summer and other non-school time periods;

providing county board reporting requirements to the Office of Child Nutrition;

and directing the Office of Child Nutrition to collect and distribute information regarding available food resources.

(3) That expansion of the Shared Table Initiative to include a program to encourage county schools to locate, participate in, and initiate programs to provide meals during summers and non- school-day times when some children may not have access to healthy meals could assist in CS for SB 155 reducing food insecurity for thousands of children in this state, and therefore, creating a mechanism that is not a directive from the Legislature upon county school boards, but rather an authorization to use school resources to find innovative ways, within the means of the county school systems, to assist the communities they serve, will provide a public benefit.

(b) Any Every county public school system may shall conduct an annual countywide Intr SB 155 2025R1034 survey of public-schoolpublic school students to determine their non-school eating patterns and the availability of nutritious food to them when schools are closed.

The West Virginia Office of Child Nutrition will assist with and facilitate with this survey to determine the needs for supplemental food services in every county.

(e) Any Each county school board may shall provide, at a minimum, an annual countywide or a coordinated regional training opportunity, with assistance from the West Virginia Office of Child Nutrition, that ensures that any entity that potentially qualifies as a summer or non-school-non-school day feeding site according to the county survey, is afforded the opportunity to receive training on operation of a feeding site.

CS for SB 155 (g) Each West Virginia public school may include in its crisis response plan, created pursuant to §18-9F-9, an assessment and plan to feed students during noninstructional or nontraditional remote learning days and public virtual school students that includes emergency situations that may require innovative ways to deliver food to student homes.

Community support and resources should be utilized when creating this plan Intr SB 155 2025R1034 (h) (g) The West Virginia Office of Child Nutrition shall monitor these activities and share between counties information about innovative and successful program initiatives around the state to promote and facilitate the Summer Feeding for All program.

NOTE:

The purpose of this bill is to establish the Summer Feeding for All initiative that will encourage county school systems to look for innovative ways to provide assistance to students in need to access nutritious foods during summer break and other times when school is not in session.

The bill requires each county school board to conduct an assessment of the availability of food to students to determine what food insecurities exist in the student population.

The bill directs each county school board compile and distribute a list of existing food providers in the community that will provide nutritious food to children with food insecurities on non-school days.

The bill directs the Office of Child Nutrition to help facilitate county school boards coordinate and develop the public policy initiative of Feed to Achieve.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.