A new bill aims to prohibit the use of SNAP benefits for restaurant meals, as a Republican congressman targets a program he argues has strayed from its original intent.
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, unveiled legislation Thursday to eliminate the Restaurant Meals Program, which allows certain Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients to use their benefits for hot meals at approved restaurants. According to data provided to Gill and Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, more than $524 million in SNAP benefits were redeemed at participating restaurants across nine states between June 2023 and May 2025.
California accounted for approximately $475 million of that total, a figure nearly equal to the combined spending of the other eight states participating in the program. Arizona ranked second in spending with $41.4 million, followed by New York at $3.6 million.
"SNAP is supposed to help struggling Americans put nutritious food on the table, not stick taxpayers with the bill for fast food," Gill stated. His legislation would remove the restaurant component of the program but retain provisions allowing qualifying public and nonprofit organizations to provide meals, including home-delivered meals for some elderly and disabled recipients.
The Restaurant Meals Program is currently active in Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia. California has implemented the program statewide, with participating restaurants in major metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Thousands of restaurants, including national chains like McDonald's, KFC, and Subway, accept SNAP benefits through the program.
However, the program has specific eligibility requirements. To use SNAP benefits at participating restaurants, every member of an eligible household must be elderly, disabled, or homeless, or be the spouse of someone who qualifies. EBT cards are coded to identify eligible recipients, and transactions are automatically declined for those who do not meet the criteria.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes the Restaurant Meals Program as an accommodation for individuals who may be unable to prepare meals themselves or lack permanent housing for food storage and preparation.
Gill's proposal follows a prior effort in July where he, along with other Republican lawmakers, urged Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to review the program. The lawmakers argued that the program had expanded beyond its original limited scope and was increasingly dominated by major fast-food chains. This effort echoed the Trump administration's broader initiative to restrict SNAP purchases of items such as soda and candy under its "Make America Healthy Again" campaign.