Postsecondary education: student hunger.

(1) Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University; the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California; the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges; and independent institutions of higher education as the 4 segments of postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires each public and private postsecondary educational institution that is located in a county that participates in the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) to apply to become an approved food vendor for the program, if the institution operates any qualifying food facilities, as defined, on campus, or to provide contracting on-campus food vendors, as defined, with specified information about the program. This bill would require an approved on-campus qualifying food facility that participates in the RMP pursuant to the bill to meet all of the requirements for participation in that program. The bill would also provide that, for purposes of this provision, a qualifying food facility is a facility administered by the postsecondary educational institution. (2) Existing federal law provides for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , known in California as CalFresh, formerly the Food Stamp Program, under which supplemental nutrition assistance benefits allocated to the state by the federal government are distributed to eligible individuals by each county. Existing state law authorizes a county to deliver CalFresh benefits through the use of an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) system. Existing federal law authorizes eligible counties to participate in the RMP, which allows eligible recipients to purchase meals at qualified restaurants. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services to issue an annual all-county letter providing guidance that lists which counties or regions are eligible to participate in the RMP and the instructions for how a county may choose to participate in RMP or appeal a noneligible determination by the department. Existing law also requires the department to design the EBT system to, automatically and upon issuance of an EBT card, allow all CalFresh recipients who are eligible for RMP to utilize their benefits in all restaurants that have been approved to participate in RMP. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services to enter into a statewide memorandum of understanding with the Chancellor of the California State University to prevent hunger among college students who are homeless, elderly, and disabled and to facilitate compliance with the provision described in (1) above. The bill would also authorize any qualifying food facility located on a campus of the California State University to participate in the CalFresh RMP through this statewide memorandum of understanding, even if the facility is located in a county that does not participate in the RMP. The bill would define "restaurant" for purposes of the bill to include an in-campus food facility, as defined. The bill would also require the State Department of Social Services to implement this act by all-county letters or similar instructions until regulations are adopted. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations implementing the bill on or before October 1, 2020.