Nutritious SNAP Act of 2025

Summary

Allows state agencies, if they request it, to prohibit SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits from being used to buy foods that the state's nutrition agency labels as “unhealthy.” The change amends the federal Food and Nutrition Act to add a new state option and ties the federal definition of “food” to that new state-option provision. The amendment does not define “unhealthy food,” set federal criteria, provide new funding, or impose deadlines. It only creates an optional authority for states and requires the Secretary of Agriculture to permit a state to use that authority when the state requests it.

• Creates a state option to bar SNAP benefit purchases of foods a state calls “unhealthy.”
• Amends the federal definition of “food” to be “subject to section 11(y),” linking it to the new state option.
• Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to permit a state to impose prohibitions if the state requests permission.
• Does not define “unhealthy food” at the federal level or provide federal criteria or lists.
• Does not provide additional federal funding or set implementation deadlines.
• Makes the prohibition optional—states choose whether to request and adopt it.
• Does not change SNAP eligibility, benefit amounts, or national program funding.
• Could lead to different purchase rules across states because definitions are left to each state nutrition agency.
• No federal enforcement mechanism for defining or reviewing each state's "unhealthy" list is established in the text.
• Implementation would depend on state rulemaking and administrative steps after a state requests permission.