Commissary Healthy Options and servicemember Welfare (CHOW) Act

This proposal lets the Defense Department test giving monthly food coupons to junior enlisted service members to use at base commissaries. The goal is to make healthy, affordable food easier to get, especially for those living alone in on-base housing. The test would run at two bases that meet certain conditions, like having many enlisted members in unaccompanied housing, low dining hall attendance, and commissaries with more ready-to-eat, healthy options . Coupons could only be used to buy food at commissaries—not alcohol or tobacco—and they would add to, not replace, existing food benefits like basic allowance for subsistence or free meals when eligible .

The pilot would last up to one year. Within 90 days after it ends, the Defense Department must report on results, including coupon use, member satisfaction, effects on commissary and dining hall use, and whether the coupons helped reduce food insecurity and increased access to healthy food .

• Who is affected: Junior enlisted service members, especially those living alone in on-base housing
• What changes: Monthly commissary food coupons; no alcohol or tobacco; supplements existing food benefits
• Where: Two selected military installations with many enlisted residents and other listed factors
• When: Pilot runs up to one year; report due 90 days after it ends