I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8888 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs an Office of Food Security, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 
Mrs. PELTOLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
A BILL 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the 
Department of Veterans Affairs an Office of Food Secu-
rity, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Food Security for All 
Veterans Act’’. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS OFFICE OF FOOD SECURITY. 
Chapter 3 of title 38, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new section (and con-
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forming the table of sections at the beginning of such 
chapter accordingly): 
‘‘§ 325. Office of Food Security 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is in the Department 
an office to be known as the ‘Office of Food Security’. 
There is at the head of the Office a Director, which shall 
be a career position. 
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—(1) The Director of the Of-
fice of Food Security shall carry out the following respon-
sibilities: 
‘‘(A) To provide information to veterans con-
cerning the availability of, and eligibility require-
ments for Federal nutrition assistance programs. 
‘‘(B) To collaborate with other program offices 
of the Department, including the Homeless Pro-
grams Office and the Office of Tribal Government 
Relations, to develop and implement policies and 
procedures to identify and treat veterans at-risk or 
experiencing food insecurity. 
‘‘(C) To collaborate with the Secretary of Agri-
culture and the Secretary of Defense on food insecu-
rity among veterans, including by collaborating with 
the Secretaries to develop materials related to food 
insecurity for the Transition Assistance Program 
curriculum and other transition-related resources. 
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‘‘(D) To develop and provide training, including 
training that may count towards continuing edu-
cation or licensure requirements, for social workers, 
dietitians, chaplains, and other clinicians on how to 
assist veterans with enrollment in Federal nutrition 
assistance programs, including the supplemental nu-
trition assistance program and the special supple-
mental nutrition program for women, infants, and 
children established by section 17 of the Child Nu-
trition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786). 
‘‘(E) To issue guidance to Department medical 
centers on how to collaborate with their State and 
local offices administering the supplemental nutri-
tion assistance program. 
‘‘(2) In carrying out the responsibilities under para-
graph (1), the Director shall consult with and provide 
technical assistance to the heads of other Federal depart-
ments and agencies, including the Department of Agri-
culture, Department of Defense, Department of the Inte-
rior, and Department of Labor. 
‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT ON FOOD INSECURITY.—The 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in consultation with the 
Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep-
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resentatives an annual report on veteran food insecurity. 
Each such report shall include data on the following: 
‘‘(1) The socioeconomic and racial characteris-
tics 
of 
veterans 
experiencing 
food 
insecurity, 
disaggregated by State in which the veteran is lo-
cated, racial or ethnic group, gender, gender iden-
tity, and sexual orientation. 
‘‘(2) Native American veterans experiencing 
food insecurity. 
‘‘(3) Specific interventions for veterans who 
screen positive for food insecurity. 
‘‘(4) Eligibility screenings for participation in 
the supplemental nutrition assistance program com-
pleted by personnel of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs. 
‘‘(5) The number of applications for participa-
tion in the supplemental nutrition assistance pro-
gram completed with assistance from personnel of 
the Department. 
‘‘(6) Changes, as a result of participation in the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program, in the 
number of food insecure veteran households. 
‘‘(7) Coordination efforts between State agen-
cies and Department facilities located in that State 
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regarding outreach to veterans to participate in the 
supplemental nutrition assistance program. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The terms ‘Native American’ and ‘Native 
American veteran’ have the meanings given those 
terms in section 3765 of this title. 
‘‘(2) The terms ‘State agency’ and ‘supple-
mental nutrition assistance program’ have the mean-
ings given those terms in section 3 of the Food and 
Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012).’’. 
Æ 
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