Congress·In Committee·S. 561

Congress Bill Would Limit SNAP Purchases by Requiring USDA to Set a Health-Based Approved Food List

Healthy SNAP Act of 2025

about 1 year ago·View on Congress.gov

⏸

Stalled

No legislative action in over 90 days.

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

Would change SNAP so the Agriculture Department decides which foods count as eligible “food.”
Would explicitly make SNAP benefits unusable for alcohol, tobacco, soft drinks, candy, ice cream, and prepared desserts like cakes, pies, and cookies.
Within 180 days of the law taking effect, the Agriculture Department would write rules listing the foods and food products allowed under SNAP.
The agency would update the list at least every 5 years based on nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns.
States could ask to swap in culturally important foods, but only if they are nutritionally equivalent and approved by the Agriculture Department.

HealthcareConsumer ProtectionAgriculture

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(4)

Snap Food Stamps

Neutral

Housing Assistance

Neutral

Child Tax Credit

Neutral

Chronic Illness

Neutral

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Feb 13, 2025Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced in Senate

What Happens Next

Projected impacts based on AI analysis

Within 180 days after the bill becomes law

Agriculture Department writes the first national list of SNAP-allowed foods (and updates definitions).

SNAP shopping rules would change once the rule takes effect: some products (like soft drinks, candy, ice cream, and many desserts) would not be payable with EBT.

Around the time the new federal rule takes effect

Retailers and EBT systems update checkouts to block restricted items on SNAP transactions.

At the register, some items may be automatically denied on SNAP; families may need to separate purchases or use another payment method.

No later than 5 years after the first list is finalized, and at least every 5 years after that

Regular scientific review of the SNAP food list happens at least every 5 years.

The “allowed foods” could change over time—new items could be added, and some could be removed—based on updated nutrition science and public health concerns.