Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet alongside U.S. Representatives Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) led nearly 100 members of Congress in a letter calling on U.S. House and Senate Agriculture committee leaders to include the lawmakers’ bipartisan, bicameral Hot Foods Act in the upcoming Farm Bill. The legislation would allow low-income families and seniors to purchase cold prepared foods, heated foods, and hot meals using their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
“Since its enactment 60 years ago, SNAP has prohibited the purchase of hot foods. While this restriction may have made sense in the 1970s, when most families were cooking their meals at home, it is no longer an accurate reflection of American families’ dietary or lifestyle needs,” wrote Bennet and the lawmakers in their letter. “Allowing the purchase of cold foods, but not their hot equivalents, disenfranchises vulnerable Americans who often rely on SNAP benefits for access to critical nutrition.”
Of the more than 42 million SNAP participants, almost 70 percent of participants are children, elderly, or those with disabilities. The ability to purchase hot foods or hot foods ready for immediate consumption would provide enormous flexibility to people who rely on this program to supplement their nutrition and dietary needs.
Currently, SNAP contains an outdated provision that limits low-income families and seniors’ ability to use their benefits to purchase foods designed for take-home preparation and consumption, or cold prepared foods. The Hot Foods Act removes this prohibition and allows families to use their SNAP benefits to purchase hot foods such as prepared rotisserie chickens, hot sandwiches, and soups.
“Now is our opportunity to provide families the flexibility their lives demand and modernize the SNAP Program with a simple fix,” concluded the lawmakers.
In addition to Bennet, Meng, Fitzpatrick, Garbarino, and Spanberger, U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and 88 members of the U.S. House of Representatives also signed the letter.
The Hot Foods Act is supported by Hunger Free Colorado, Nourish Colorado, Feeding Colorado, Food Research & Action Center, First Focus Campaign for Children, Feeding America, and Hunger Free America. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) also support this letter.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Scott, Chairwoman Stabenow, and Ranking Member Boozman,
As you continue your work drafting the 2024 Farm Bill, we encourage you to include the bipartisan, bicameral Hot Foods Act of 2023, H.R. 3519/S. 2258, which would remove the prohibition on purchasing hot, ready to eat foods with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Since its enactment 60 years ago, SNAP has prohibited the purchase of hot foods. While this restriction may have made sense in the 1970s, when most families were cooking their meals at home, it is no longer an accurate reflection of American families’ dietary or lifestyle needs. Retailers are also evolving to match Americans’ consumer habits, and have expanded their offerings to include more hot and prepared foods.
The hot foods prohibition means that SNAP customers can purchase cold or frozen items, but if retailers prepare or heat the same food items, they become ineligible for purchase under the program. In practical terms, a parent can purchase a frozen rotisserie chicken and spend over an hour cooking it but cannot purchase a hot rotisserie chicken to eat immediately at home.
Today, there are almost 42 million Americans in the SNAP program, over 500,000 of whom live in Kentucky, 2.8 million live in New York, and 5.2 million live in California. Eighty percent of SNAP participants are children, seniors, or individuals with disabilities. Allowing the purchase of cold foods, but not their hot equivalents, disenfranchises vulnerable Americans who often rely on SNAP benefits for access to critical nutrition. Some individuals with disabilities can face greater mobility challenges in cooking meals from scratch and would greatly benefit from being able to purchase a hot meal with their SNAP benefits.
During natural disasters, USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service grants waivers to affected counties so that SNAP participants can use their benefits to purchase hot foods when they are unable to prepare food at home. Most recently, USDA granted such waivers to all five counties in Hawaii following the Maui wildfires in August and to 23 counties in Florida following Hurricane Idalia that hit the state with 125 mph winds at the end of August. Such waivers demonstrate that the restriction on hot foods is an unnecessary red tape for business owners, program administrators, and American families.
The Hot Foods Act has bipartisan support in Congress. Now is our opportunity to provide families the flexibility their lives demand and modernize the SNAP Program with a simple fix.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
Sincerely,