Sponsors (24)
The bill channels dedicated funding and evaluation toward increasing SNAP participants' access to nutrient-dense dairy through electronic incentives, trading broader choice and accommodation of non-dairy or dairy-intolerant households and imposing modest fiscal and administrative costs for a more targeted approach.
SNAP households (low-income individuals and families with children) will receive targeted financial incentives to buy naturally nutrient-dense dairy, increasing access to calorie- and nutrient-rich foods.
The bill provides $10 million per year to run incentive projects, creating predictable federal funding to support nationwide program availability.
Funding can help retailers and distribution sites adopt EBT-compatible point-of-sale systems by offsetting startup costs, enabling broader electronic delivery of incentives and easier customer access.
SNAP beneficiaries will face narrower federal incentives limited to dairy products, which steers purchases toward specific foods and reduces beneficiaries' freedom to choose other healthy options.
By focusing incentives on cow's-milk dairy, the program excludes non-dairy alternatives and may disadvantage people with dairy intolerance, allergies, or cultural/dietary preferences.
Providing $10 million per year increases federal spending and could add to budget pressures if not offset, imposing a cost on taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a competitive grant program to fund point-of-purchase incentives for SNAP households to buy defined nutrient-rich dairy (milk, yogurt, cultured milk products, cheese).
Official title: To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to establish a dairy nutrition incentive program, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 31, 2025 by Jim Costa · Last progress March 31, 2025
Creates a new Dairy Nutrition Incentive Program within the Food and Nutrition Act to test and fund point-of-purchase incentives that increase purchase and consumption of “naturally nutrient-rich dairy” (fluid milk, yogurt and cultured milk products, and cheese) by SNAP households. The Agriculture Secretary must establish the program within 180 days, competitively award grants or cooperative agreements to state/local governments and nonprofits, prioritize projects that maximize funds for direct incentives and use EBT‑compatible point-of-sale systems, and may fund start-up costs for EBT-capable systems.