Overview
- Rep. Brandon Gill introduced the Ending Restaurant Purchases with SNAP Act on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026, to abolish the state‑opt‑in Restaurant Meals Program and bar restaurants from accepting SNAP benefits.
- The RMP was created in the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to let certain beneficiaries who cannot cook or store food buy ready-to-eat meals, and eligibility is limited to elderly, disabled and homeless recipients.
- Reporting shows about $524 million in SNAP benefits were spent at participating restaurants from June 2023 to May 2025, with roughly $475 million of that total occurring in California and smaller amounts in eight other states.
- Gill has argued publicly that SNAP should fund nutritious groceries rather than fast food, and his bill would still permit public agencies and nonprofit groups to provide meals and home delivery to eligible people.
- The measure is an early legislative step in a broader Republican push that included June congressional questioning of a FRAC witness and a July letter from GOP senators asking USDA and HHS to review restaurant spending; any change would require congressional action and possible federal rulemaking and would alter how states run their opt‑in RMPs.