Congress is close to approving historic changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves millions of Americans. Since the 1970s, recipients have been barred from using the government-provided funds to purchase hot foods. Now, that all could change.
In a historic bipartisan effort, the House of Representatives passed a bill allowing SNAP users to buy hot rotisserie chicken by a 384-35 vote, according to The Hill. This signals a potential policy change– one that has support from Republicans but has long been championed by Democratic lawmakers.
The recent effort, officially titled the Healthy Obtainable Tasty Rotisserie Chicken Act, was introduced by Ark. Republican Rep. Rick Crawford. “It is just plain common sense to allow SNAP participants to purchase a rotisserie chicken with their benefits,” he said in a statement. “Hot rotisserie chicken is healthy, widely available, popular in grocery stores, and aligned with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
For decades, many Americans have relied on rotisserie chickens as a fast and flavorful meal starter. The National Chicken Council (NCC) reported in 2017 that one in every two Americans bought a rotisserie chicken. For the nearly 80 percent of SNAP households that include either a child, an elderly person, or a person with a disability, according to the Department of Agriculture, the bill could ease some stress.
The bill comes as Black Americans– accounting for 29 percent of SNAP recipients in 2023, according to Pew Research— continue to be impacted by historic cuts to the program under last year’s Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act. We previously told you that an estimated $187 billion is expected to be cut over the next 10 years. Black American households experience food insecurity at more than twice the rate of white households and are likely to be hit hard.
You may be thinking, “Why just rotisserie chicken and not more hot food?” Well, the rule was part of a larger policy to encourage Americans to cook their own meals at home, the Center for Law and Social Policy reported. Still, for families with little access to kitchen supplies or those with members with special needs, being able to use their benefits to purchase a hot chicken is a start… Several Democrats, however, are not backing down from their mission to include most, if not all, hot foods on the SNAP list.
In fact, several leaders voted against the bill, including Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has expressed the need for more comprehensive legislation.
“SNAP recipients should be able to use their benefits to buy any hot or prepared food at the supermarket,” a spokesperson for Jeffries wrote in a statement. “Leader Jeffries supports comprehensive legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Grace Meng that would modernize outdated policies to allow that to occur. We need full-scale reform, not simply a piecemeal exemption carved out to support a single industry.”
N.Y. Rep. Grace Meng also urged lawmakers to expand the list and back her Hot Foods Act, which covers all hot foods, according to The Hill.
“Everyone should be able to buy a hot meal, with or without a Costco membership (or even liking chicken). That’s why my Hot Foods Act lets SNAP cover ALL hot, prepared foods!” she wrote in a statement. Now, the Rotisserie Chicken Act is in the hands of the Senate, which could pass the bill into law before summer starts.
