Overview
- Senators John Fetterman, Jim Justice, Shelley Moore Capito, and Michael Bennet introduced the bill Tuesday to let Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program users buy hot rotisserie chicken.
- The proposal would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 by explicitly adding “hot rotisserie chicken” to the legal definition of food, without expanding funding, eligibility, or restaurant purchases.
- Current SNAP rules bar hot prepared foods but allow the same chicken once cooled, a gap supporters call outdated because it burdens stores, wastes energy, and blocks a low-cost protein for people without time or kitchen access.
- The Senate measure moves to committee review next, while a House effort led by Rep. Rick Crawford continues after an earlier version was offered then withdrawn during Farm Bill markup, with new backing from members such as Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet.
- The National Chicken Council backs the change, and coverage places it in a larger fight over SNAP rules that serve roughly 42 million people, including recent state waivers to restrict some foods and significant funding cuts in 2025.