HR479-119

What This Bill Does

The Healthy SNAP Act rewrites the Food and Nutrition Act's definition of food for SNAP. It keeps existing exclusions for alcohol and tobacco but adds explicit exclusions for soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products. USDA must, within 180 days, designate by regulation the foods and food products that count as SNAP food. In doing so, the Secretary must consider nutrition research on nutrients lacking in U.S. diets, foods that promote the health of SNAP-served populations, public health concerns, cultural eating patterns, and appropriate fat, sugar, and salt content. USDA must review the designated food list as often as needed and at least every five years. Prepared meals must meet nutrition values set by USDA regulations, and state agencies may substitute culturally different foods with USDA approval if the substitute is nutritionally equivalent.

Who Benefits and How

Nutrition-focused SNAP participants benefit if benefit dollars shift toward foods that USDA finds improve diet quality. Public health nutrition advocates benefit because USDA must base eligible-food designations on nutrition science, public health concerns, and fat, sugar, and salt content. State SNAP agencies benefit from an explicit pathway to seek culturally appropriate nutritionally equivalent substitutions. Healthy food producers benefit if USDA designations steer purchases toward nutrient-dense eligible products.

Who Bears the Burden and How

SNAP participants who buy soft drinks, candy, ice cream, or prepared desserts lose the ability to use benefits for those products. SNAP retailers must update eligible-product systems and checkout controls when USDA designates or revises eligible foods. Sugary beverage manufacturers face reduced SNAP-funded purchase opportunities. USDA Food and Nutrition Service must write regulations within 180 days and conduct recurring scientific reviews at least every five years.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits SNAP treatment for soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts, and similar products.
• Requires USDA to designate eligible SNAP foods by regulation within 180 days.
• Requires scientific reviews of eligible foods at least once every five years.
• Allows state SNAP agencies to substitute culturally different nutritionally equivalent foods with USDA approval.