House Republican Introduces Bill to Stop SNAP Benefits From Being Used at Restaurants
A House Republican is moving to prevent food stamp recipients from using their benefits at restaurants, arguing taxpayer-funded assistance should be focused on groceries rather than fast food and prepared restaurant meals.
Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas introduced the Ending Restaurant Purchases with SNAP Act on Thursday, which would eliminate the Restaurant Meals Program within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“SNAP is supposed to help struggling Americans put nutritious food on the table, not stick taxpayers with the bill for fast food,” Gill said.
The Restaurant Meals Program allows certain SNAP recipients to purchase prepared meals from approved restaurants in participating states. The program dates back to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977.
Eligibility is not available to every SNAP recipient. The program is primarily intended for elderly, disabled and homeless recipients who may be unable to prepare meals themselves or lack permanent access to cooking and food-storage facilities.
Gill argues the program has expanded beyond its original narrow purpose and is now directing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into restaurants, including major fast-food and quick-service chains.
Approximately $524 million in SNAP benefits were spent at restaurants across nine participating states between June 2023 and May 2025.
California accounted for the overwhelming majority of that spending, with approximately $475 million in SNAP benefits going toward restaurant purchases.
Arizona ranked a distant second at roughly $41.4 million, while New York recipients spent approximately $3.6 million through the program.
Other states participating in the Restaurant Meals Program include Michigan, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland.
Gill’s legislation would eliminate the ability to use SNAP benefits at restaurants but preserve assistance for some of the vulnerable Americans the existing program was originally designed to help.
Public and nonprofit organizations would still be permitted to provide home-delivered meals to eligible recipients, including elderly and disabled Americans who cannot easily prepare their own food.
The Texas Republican has increasingly focused on how taxpayer-funded food benefits are being spent. During a congressional hearing in June, Gill questioned why SNAP dollars should be available for products such as sugary soft drinks.
“Do the American people need Coca-Cola to survive?” Gill asked during an exchange over restrictions on unhealthy SNAP purchases.
Gill also joined Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa and other GOP lawmakers in July in demanding a federal review of the Restaurant Meals Program.
The lawmakers argued that what began as a limited accommodation for people unable to cook or store food has expanded into a program increasingly dominated by large national restaurant chains.
Republicans asked the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to examine whether tighter restrictions were necessary and whether the program was still operating according to its original purpose.
Gill’s new legislation would go considerably further by eliminating restaurant purchases through SNAP altogether.
The proposal now sets up another congressional fight over the future of America’s largest food assistance program, with Gill arguing that SNAP should return to its fundamental purpose: helping struggling Americans purchase groceries rather than using taxpayer dollars at restaurants.