Lead Sponsor: Delegate Riley Keaton, Roane (Dist. 015).

Description: HB 2518 would amend language to provide a minimum percentage requirement of food from in-state producers for purposes of the West Virginia Fresh Food Act.

The bill is in: House Agriculture and Natural Resources (1/12/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Danielle Walker, Monongalia (Dist. 081).

Description: This bill hopes to stablish a tip line to the Department of Health and Human Resources for citizens to report instances of food insecurity and requiring appropriate personnel to follow up on tips to provide assistance to those individuals.

This bill is in: House Health and Human Resources (1/11/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Ric Griffith, Wayne (Dist. 027).

Description: Relates to authorizing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources to implement a state-wide nutrition incentive program that encourages citizens who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to consume fresh, healthy, and locally grown food from eligible food items purchased at local farmer’s markets and participating grocers: and providing for an equal SNAP credit for the use of additional farmer market purchases up to $40 a month.

This bill is in: House Finance (1/11/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Kayla Young, Kanawha (Dist. 056).

Description: Aims to to create the "Food Pantry Assistance Grant Program;" providing legislative findings and definitions; and authorizing an allocation of money the state receives from the federal coronavirus relief fund.

This bill is in: House Finance (1/25/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Kayla Young, Kanawha (Dist. 056).

Description: Aims to establish a food desert program under the Department of Agriculture.

This bill is in: House Agriculture and Natural Resources (1/25/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Kayla Young, Kanawha (Dist. 056).

Description: Aims to establish a food waste task force.

This bill is in: House Health and Human Resources (1/25/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Kayla Young, Kanawha (Dist. 056).

Description: This bill would address hunger on college campuses, and provide qualifications for campuses to be designated as "Hunger-Free" zones. Campuses would be able to create Campus Hunger Task Forces to work on meeting that qualification.

This bill is in: House Education (1/25/23).

Lead Sponsor: Mike Woelfel, Cabell (Dist. 05).

Description: In creating a Summer Feeding for All Program, the program would have the following missions: 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.

This bill is in: House Education (2/1/23)

Lead Sponsor: Senator Robert Karnes, Randolph (Dist. 11).

Description: Proposed amendment to the state constitution to guarantee the right to farm and ranch to citizens of West Virginia.

This resolution is in: Senate Judiciary (1/11/23).

Lead Sponsor: Delegate Danielle Walker, Monongalia (Dist. 081).

Description: Proposed amendment to the state constitution to provide that “all people have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food and have a fundamental right to be free from hunger, malnutrition, starvation and the endangerment of life from the scarcity of or lack of access to nourishing food.”

This resolution is in: House Health and Human Resources (1/11/23).