WV lawmakers once again advance bill to help create on-campus food and health aid pantries

College students attending West Virginia institutions are one step closer to receiving food, health, and hygiene assistance, following a heated debate last week on the house floor. The West Virginia House of Delegates passed HB 4081, a bill that would help colleges maintain existing food and health aid pantries or start new ones. The bill would create a Higher Education Health and Aid Grant program under the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission (HEPC). Lawmakers have tried to pass similar bills for years, with no luck. 

If HB 4081 becomes law, colleges could apply for grant dollars to purchase food, disposable silverware or the physical space needed to open a pantry. Grant dollars could also help colleges buy medical, health and hygiene products, including bandages, toothbrushes, soap and tampons. 

While many delegates viewed the bill as a vital investment in students who will eventually pour back into the state’s economic landscape, others saw it as a potential long-term threat to West Virginia taxpayers.

The main point of disagreement centered on where the grant money would come from. The bill’s sponsor, Del. Jimmy Willis, R-Brooke, explained that the HEPC would be searching for public or private grant funding, utilizing federal dollars or private institutional funds. He emphasized that the bill “doesn’t take state tax dollars” and “doesn’t create a special revenue account.”

However, critics were quick to point out that the funding is neither restricted to private sources, nor does it explicitly exclude taxpayer dollars from being utilized in the future.

Del. Chris Anders, R-Berkeley, questioned the constitutional role of the state in creating what he termed a “possible” government welfare program. Anders argued that the bill would create a new state framework without an identified funding source, a move he said would essentially send an open-ended bill to the taxpayers for a “new government obligation.”

Right now, roughly one fifth of undergraduate students in the U.S. deal with food insecurity, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education. That number is higher for Black students, who experience food insecurity at nearly twice the rate of their white and Asian counterparts. 

Pantries are particularly essential for food insecure college students, because most can’t qualify for federal food assistance programs like SNAP, unless they work at least 20 hours weekly. There are some exceptions, including parents with children, students with disabilities and participants in on-the-job training programs. 

A “Pared Back” Solution to a Long Term Problem

For supporters of HB 4081, like Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, the bill is a necessary, yet modest, step forward. Young noted that advocates have been pushing for this type of assistance for nearly five years.

“This is kind of the most pared back version of it that we can get through this legislature, quite frankly, because we’ve seen how combative they are to helping people,” Young stated in a post-session interview. 

She phrased the bill as a way to ensure people who “want to go to college can do so and make ends meet at the same time.”

Last year’s attempt to create a Higher Education Health and Aid Grant program — HB 2737 — didn’t make it very far. It was introduced in the House, but never made it out of house committees. Back in 2024, lawmakers introduced a more expansive bill focused solely on food insecurity: SB 292, or the Hunger-Free Campus Act. The bill would have also created a grant program to support on-campus food pantries, but it would’ve done much more. 

To receive grants, institutions would be required to operate at least one “hunger-free campus.” To become a “hunger-free campus,” required opening one physical food pantry or creating another “stigma-free” way for students to receive food. It also required campuses to create a Campus Hunger Task Force, designate a staff member to help students enroll in SNAP, provide options for students to use SNAP benefits at campus stores and conduct an annual survey on student hunger. 

Students from West Virginia and Marshall universities testified in support of the 2024 bill during a Senate Education Committee meeting. It came much closer to becoming law, clearing the senate floor and house committees. But it never came up for a house floor vote. 

Most of West Virginia’s current state delegates support this year’s efforts to reduce food insecurity for college students. 

Nevertheless, 22 delegates voted against HB 4081. 

Del. Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-Randolph, argued that going to college is a privilege.

“We do need to have some assistance programs, but those are for kids that are in need,” Coop-Gonzalez said. “Those are for people with disabilities. They’re not for able-bodied adults that can make decisions for themselves.”      

Meanwhile, Del. Margitta Mazzocchi, R-Logan, reminded the chamber that “college students are adults.” 

“We want to prepare them, these young ladies and gentlemen, to learn that everyone has to work for their necessities,” Mazzochi said. “That means they have to learn that the government is not here to give out handouts constantly.”

Questions of eligibility also surfaced when Del. Henry Dillon, R-Wayne, asked if there was anything in the bill to keep an international student from China from receiving benefits. Del. Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, countered that if a student is legally present on campus and participating in the state’s educational system, they should be supported.

Moving Forward

Despite noticeable resistance regarding fiscal responsibility and “handout culture,” humanitarian arguments prevailed and helped HB 4081 pass the house floor. Del. Phil Mallow, R-Marion, highlighted the success of a similar program at Fairmont State University, which is in his district. He said students who once utilized the program often return to donate to it.

HB 4081 now heads to the Senate Education and Senate Finance Committees, having passed the House with broad bipartisan support. If the bill passes those committees, it must pass the senate floor and be signed into law by the governor.  If it clears all those hurdles, it will become effective on July 1, 2026.