Healthy SNAP Act of 2025

Healthy SNAP Act of 2025

This bill amends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to redefine the foods eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.

Under the bill, SNAP benefits may not be used for soft drinks, candy, ice cream, or prepared desserts, such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products.

Further, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must designate by regulation foods and food products to include in the SNAP definition of the term food. USDA must consider food and products that (1) based on nutrition research, contain nutrients lacking in the diets of people in the United States; and (2) promote the health of the population served by SNAP, based on relevant nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns. USDA must also, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the fat, sugar, and salt content of the food and food products are appropriate. At least every five years, USDA must review and amend the list.

In addition, prepared meals purchased with SNAP benefits must have nutritional values consistent with standards developed by USDA for the list of food and food products.

A state agency may substitute different foods for food USDA designated under this bill, with USDA approval, so long as the foods are nutritionally equivalent; this is permitted to allow for different cultural eating patterns.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 479 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 479

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require the Secretary to 
    designate food and food products to be made available under the 
   supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 16, 2025

 Mr. Brecheen (for himself, Mr. Grothman, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Biggs of 
Arizona, Mr. Cloud, Mr. Gosar, Mrs. Miller of Illinois, and Mr. Meuser) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require the Secretary to 
    designate food and food products to be made available under the 
   supplemental nutrition assistance program, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Healthy SNAP Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. FOOD UNDER SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definition of Food.--Section 3(k)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 
Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012(k)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``except alcoholic beverages, tobacco'' and 
        inserting the following ``designated by the Secretary under 
        section 4(d), except any alcoholic beverages, tobacco, soft 
        drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, 
        pies, cookies, or similar products''; and
            (2) by striking ``clauses'' and inserting ``paragraphs''.
    (b) Designated Food.--Section 4 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Designated Food.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall designate 
        by regulation the foods and food products that shall be 
        included in the definition of the term `food' under section 
        3(k)(1).
            ``(2) Considerations.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) take into consideration food and food 
                products that--
                            ``(i) based on nutrition research, contain 
                        nutrients lacking in the diets of people in the 
                        United States; and
                            ``(ii) promote the health of the population 
                        served by the supplemental nutrition assistance 
                        program, based on relevant nutrition science, 
                        public health concerns, and cultural eating 
                        patterns; and
                    ``(B) to the maximum extent practicable, ensure 
                that the fat, sugar, and salt content of the food and 
                food products is appropriate.
            ``(3) Review of available foods.--As frequently as 
        determined by the Secretary to be necessary to reflect the most 
        recent scientific knowledge, but not less frequently than once 
        every 5 years, the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) conduct a scientific review of the food and 
                food products designated under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) amend those foods and food products, as 
                necessary, to reflect nutrition science, public health 
                concerns, and cultural eating patterns.
            ``(4) Prepared meals.--Prepared meals described in section 
        3(k) shall have nutritional values consistent with regulations 
        developed by the Secretary under this subsection.
            ``(5) Cultural cuisines.--To allow for different cultural 
        eating patterns, State agencies may, with the approval of the 
        Secretary, substitute different food for food designated under 
        paragraph (1) subject to the condition that the different food 
        is nutritionally equivalent to the substituted food.''.
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