Bill Details
S.1202 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-03-31 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced Date
2025-03-31
Policy Area
Agriculture and Food
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
Cosponsors
View cosponsors (11)
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-California]
- Sen. Hickenlooper, John W. [D-Colorado]
- Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-Maryland]
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-Vermont]
- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-New York]
- Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-Vermont]
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-Pennsylvania]
- Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-Connecticut]
- Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-Massachusetts]
- Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-Michigan]
- Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-Delaware]
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AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would let people who use SNAP, the food assistance program, buy hot, ready-to-eat foods with their benefits. Right now, SNAP generally cannot be used for hot meals or hot food items made for immediate consumption. The bill would remove that restriction and update related rules so the program can cover these foods. It would still keep the ban on buying alcohol and tobacco. In plain terms, the bill would give families more freedom to use their food benefits on prepared meals and other hot foods they can eat right away.
- SNAP benefits could be used for hot foods and hot food products that are ready to eat immediately.
- The bill would keep existing limits on items that cannot be bought with SNAP, including alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
- It also changes store-eligibility rules so some retailers that sell hot foods could still take SNAP, as long as hot foods make up no more than half of their total sales.
- Other technical language in the food law would be updated to match these new rules about hot food purchases.
Official Summaries
Hot Foods Act of 2025
This bill expands the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to permit the use of SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1202 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1202
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to permit supplemental
nutrition assistance program benefits to be used to purchase additional
types of food items.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 31, 2025
Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Van Hollen,
Mr. Welch, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Blumenthal,
and Mr. Markey) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to permit supplemental
nutrition assistance program benefits to be used to purchase additional
types of food items.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Hot Foods Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. HOT FOOD UNDER SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
Section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (k)(1), by striking ``consumption except
alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods or hot food products
ready for immediate consumption other than those authorized
pursuant to clauses (3), (4), (5), (7), (8), and (9) of this
subsection'' and inserting ``consumption, including hot foods
or hot food products ready for immediate consumption and
excluding alcoholic beverages, tobacco'';
(2) in subsection (o)(1)--
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by
striking ``and consumption'' and inserting ``or home or
immediate consumption''; and
(B) in subparagraph (A)--
(i) by striking the subparagraph
designation and all that follows through
``offers'' and inserting the following:
``(A)(i) offers'';
(ii) in clause (i) (as so designated), by
striking ``or'' at the end and inserting
``and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) of which not more than 50 percent of the
total gross sales are from hot foods or hot food
products ready for immediate consumption; or''; and
(3) in subsection (q)(2)--
(A) by striking ``include accessory'' and inserting
the following: ``include--
``(A) accessory'';
(B) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated), by
striking the period at the end and inserting ``; and'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) hot foods or hot food products ready for
immediate consumption.''.
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