H.R. 2496 — Dairy Nutrition Incentive Program Act of 2025

This section establishes a dairy nutrition incentive program to develop and test point-of-purchase incentives that increase purchases and consumption of naturally nutrient-rich dairy (i.e., fluid milk, yogurt and other cultured cow’s milk dairy products, and cheese made from cow’s milk) by households receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. The Secretary of Agriculture must implement the program not later than 180 days after enactment and award competitive grants or cooperative agreements to state or local governments and nonprofit organizations, prioritizing projects that (1) maximize funds for direct participant incentives, (2) issue incentives for SNAP purchases of such dairy that are redeemable only for additional naturally nutrient-rich dairy, (3) target SNAP households, and (4) use electronic point-of-sale systems (with separate funding available under SNAP section 16 for initial EBT costs). The Secretary must conduct independent evaluations of each project using rigorous methodologies (e.g., random assignment) to assess effects on dairy purchases, publicly disseminate results, discontinue noncompliant or unsatisfactory projects, and submit biennial reports to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture—beginning December 31 of the first full calendar year after program establishment—describing project status and evaluation results. The program receives $10 million in mandatory funding for each fiscal year from general Treasury funds, plus such additional sums as may be appropriated.