Lawmakers want the government to track what people buy with SNAP

Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., introduced legislation that would require the government to track which foods people buy with SNAP benefits. They hope it will lead to healthier eating.

“SNAP plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty and food insecurity, but needs to do better at improving nutrition security and diet quality,” Sen. Booker said in a statement.  

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps low-income Americans buy food. But the senators and others are concerned some purchases are unhealthy. 

If their bill, the SNAP Nutrition Security Act of 2023, is signed into law, the Department of Agriculture would have to write a report on what foods people are buying with SNAP and explain how any changes it makes to the program improve nutrition. 

“This data will provide a clearer picture of how SNAP can be used to improve recipient’s health and ensure the program promotes a healthy, nutritious diet,” Sen. Rubio said in a statement.  

At least 15 organizations endorsed the bill, including the American Heart Association, Hunger Free America and humanitarian chef Jose Andrés. 

“They say we are what we eat, and if we want healthier communities that are able to feed themselves with dignity, we must make nutrition a priority in the fight against hunger,” Andrés said.  

In a separate proposal, Rubio wants to exclude junk food from SNAP. But the National Grocers Association spoke out against that and told NewsNation it would make cashiers the food police. 

A recent report found that the government had a 12% SNAP payment error rate from 2020 to 2022: 10% of recipients were overpaid, 2% were underpaid.

According to the Department of Agriculture, approximately 42 million Americans receive assistance from the program. U.S. News and World Report created a map that shows New Mexico has the highest participation rate at 24.3%, while Utah has the lowest at 4.6%.