S. 561 — Healthy SNAP Act of 2025

This section revises the definition of "food" eligible for purchase with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to include only foods and food products designated by the Secretary of Agriculture under new section 4(d) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, excluding alcoholic beverages, tobacco, soft drinks, candy, ice cream, and prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, or cookies (previously excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco, among other items, but including soft drinks, candy, etc.). (As background, SNAP provides electronic benefit transfer cards to low-income households to purchase eligible foods at authorized retailers.) It further (1) requires the Secretary to designate eligible foods by regulation within 180 days of enactment, considering items with nutrients lacking in U.S. diets that promote SNAP participants' health based on nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns, while ensuring appropriate fat, sugar, and salt content; (2) mandates review and amendment of designations at least every five years; (3) requires prepared meals to meet Secretary-developed nutritional standards; and (4) authorizes state agencies to substitute culturally appropriate foods that are nutritionally equivalent, subject to Secretary approval.