This bill, titled the "Emergency Relief for Hungry Families Act of 2025," aims to provide support to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants during federal government shutdowns. It amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to create a specific exemption from the "equal treatment requirement" for retail food stores. This exemption applies during a "covered period" when Department of Agriculture appropriations have lapsed and SNAP recipients are not receiving their full or any benefits. During such a covered period, authorized retail food stores would be permitted to offer special incentives or discounts to SNAP participants without needing to seek a waiver. These incentives, effective for the entire duration of the covered period, would not be deemed a violation of the regulation requiring equal treatment for SNAP transactions, thereby enabling stores to assist families facing food insecurity due to disrupted SNAP benefits.
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Timeline
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Agriculture and Food
Emergency Relief for Hungry Families Act of 2025
USA119th CongressS-3132| Senate
| Updated: 11/6/2025
This bill, titled the "Emergency Relief for Hungry Families Act of 2025," aims to provide support to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants during federal government shutdowns. It amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to create a specific exemption from the "equal treatment requirement" for retail food stores. This exemption applies during a "covered period" when Department of Agriculture appropriations have lapsed and SNAP recipients are not receiving their full or any benefits. During such a covered period, authorized retail food stores would be permitted to offer special incentives or discounts to SNAP participants without needing to seek a waiver. These incentives, effective for the entire duration of the covered period, would not be deemed a violation of the regulation requiring equal treatment for SNAP transactions, thereby enabling stores to assist families facing food insecurity due to disrupted SNAP benefits.