Bill Summary
The "Hot Foods Act of 2025" proposes amendments to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to be used for purchasing hot foods and ready-to-eat meals.
Key changes include:
1. **Permitting Hot Foods**: The bill removes restrictions on using SNAP benefits for hot foods or ready-to-eat products, allowing beneficiaries to buy these items alongside other authorized food purchases.
2. **Sales Limitations**: Retailers that sell hot foods must ensure that no more than 50% of their total gross sales come from hot food products to qualify for SNAP participation.
3. **Clarification of Eligible Items**: The legislation explicitly includes hot foods and ready-to-eat products as eligible items, expanding the range of food options available to SNAP recipients.
Overall, this legislation aims to enhance food access for SNAP beneficiaries by enabling them to purchase convenient meal options.
Possible Impacts
The "Hot Foods Act of 2025," as outlined in the provided legislation, could affect people in several ways:
1. **Increased Food Options for SNAP Recipients**: This legislation allows individuals receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase hot foods and ready-to-eat meals. This change would provide greater flexibility and variety in food choices for recipients, enabling them to buy meals that are convenient and appealing, which is particularly beneficial for those with limited cooking facilities or time.
2. **Support for Local Businesses**: By permitting the sale of hot foods through SNAP, local restaurants and food businesses could see an increase in customer traffic as low-income individuals can now use their benefits to buy prepared meals. This could help stimulate the local economy and support small businesses, particularly in areas where access to grocery stores is limited.
3. **Nutritional Accessibility**: Allowing the purchase of hot foods could improve nutritional access for families who may struggle to prepare meals at home due to time constraints or lack of cooking equipment. The availability of prepared meals could lead to better dietary choices and overall health outcomes, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly who may benefit from hot, nutritious meals.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2512 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2512
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Ms. Meng (for herself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Garbarino, Mr.
Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Auchincloss, Ms. Balint, Mr. Bell, Ms. Bonamici, Ms.
Brownley, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Castor
of Florida, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Chu, Ms. Clarke of New York,
Mr. Cohen, Mr. Costa, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mrs. Dingell, Mr.
Espaillat, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Mr. Evans of Colorado, Mr. Frost,
Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr.
Gomez, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Harder of California, Mr. Huffman, Ms.
Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Keating, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr.
Khanna, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Landsman, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Lawler, Ms.
Leger Fernandez, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Malliotakis, Mr. McGarvey, Mr.
McGovern, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Min, Mr. Morelle, Ms. Norton, Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez, Ms. Pettersen, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Pocan, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Riley
of New York, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Smith of
Washington, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Ms.
Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr.
Tran, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Vasquez, Ms. Velazquez, and Mrs. Watson Coleman)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
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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