Kentucky Food is Medicine State Designation

State Bills: Kentucky

Published March 31st, 2026

Detected April 2nd, 2026

Summary

Kentucky General Assembly passed SJR23 declaring Kentucky a 'Food is Medicine' state and directing state agencies to advance related initiatives. The resolution passed unanimously (93-0) with a veto override in the House on March 31, 2026, following Senate adoption on January 28, 2026. Sponsors include Senators Frommeyer, Douglas, and Tichenor.

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What changed

Kentucky enacted Senate Joint Resolution 23 (SJR23), formally designating Kentucky as a 'Food is Medicine' state. The resolution directs state agencies to advance Food is Medicine initiatives across multiple sectors including health services, food distribution, and medical care. The resolution received strong bipartisan support, passing 93-0 in the House after a 75-5 veto override vote, and 35-0 in the Senate.

This resolution does not create enforceable legal obligations or penalties. State agencies are directed to consider and implement Food is Medicine approaches in their programs and policies. Compliance teams at healthcare institutions, food service operations, and state-contracted vendors should monitor agency guidance issued in response to this directive. No specific implementation deadlines or compliance requirements are established by this resolution.

Source document (simplified)

ChangeBridge / Kentucky / SJR23 Passed SJR23 Senate Joint Resolution Passed 2026-01-29

A JOINT RESOLUTION declaring Kentucky a Food is Medicine state and directing state agencies to advance Food is Medicine initiatives.

Declare Kentucky to be a Food is Medicine state and direct state agencies to advance Food is Medicine initiatives.

Bill Details

State Kentucky

Session 2026 Regular Session

Chamber Senate

Committee Rules

Official Source apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sjr23....

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Action History

2026-03-31 H 3rd reading, adopted 93-0 with Floor Amendment (1) 2026-03-27 H floor amendment (1) filed 2026-02-27 H 2nd reading, to Rules 2026-02-26 H reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar 2026-02-25 H to Health Services (H) 2026-01-29 H to Committee on Committees (H) 2026-01-29 H received in House 2026-01-28 S 3rd reading, adopted with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-01-27 S posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, January 28, 2026 2026-01-22 S 2nd reading, to Rules 2026-01-21 S reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-01-16 S to Health Services (S) 2026-01-07 S to Committee on Committees (S) 2026-01-07 S introduced in Senate

Votes

2026-01-28 Senate: Adopt w/ SCS 1 RSN# 3785 Yea: 35 Nay: 0 2026-03-31 House: Veto Override RCS# 389 Yea: 75 Nay: 5 2026-03-31 House: Adopt RCS# 390 Yea: 93 Nay: 0

Committee Referrals

2026-01-07 S Committee on Committees 2026-01-16 S Health Services 2026-01-22 S Rules 2026-01-29 H Committee On Committees 2026-02-25 H Health Services 2026-02-27 H Rules

Amendments

0000-00-00 Senate Committee Substitute 0000-00-00 House Floor Amendment

Bill Text Versions

0000-00-00 Introduced 0000-00-00 Engrossed

Subjects

Agriculture Commendations and Recognitions Diseases Drugs and Medicines Foods And Beverages Health and Medical Services Health Care Professionals Hospitals And Health Facilities Nurses Pharmacists Physicians Public Health State Agencies Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)