SNAP Nutrition Security Act: Here’s what you need to know

Lawmakers in Congress introduced the SNAP Nutrition Security Act, a bill that would establish metrics and reporting to assess SNAP’s impact on nutrition and food security. The bill strengthens the evidence base for a stronger SNAP program. It does not change what SNAP shoppers can buy. Find out why this legislation is critical to improving access to a healthy diet.

What is the Nutrition Security Act?

The Farm Bill is a comprehensive piece of legislation that funds a wide variety of food and agriculture programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Congress passes a new Farm Bill about every five years, giving policymakers an opportunity to strengthen critical food and farm programs. The upcoming Farm Bill is a critical opportunity for Congress to address long-standing inequities in access to healthy food, strengthen our food system, and reduce diet-related diseases, thereby reducing the burden of health care costs.

Lawmakers in Congress have introduced legislation that would require the USDA to establish metrics to assess SNAP’s impact on nutrition security, food security and diet quality. The SNAP Food Security Act of 2023 (S.2326/HR4909) has bipartisan, bicameral support and is sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in the Senate and Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05) and Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-05) in the House.

The legislation would codify definitions of food security, nutrition security, and diet quality and require the USDA to measure and report annually on nutrition security and diet quality among SNAP participants, just as the agency currently does for with food security. It would also require state SNAP-Ed agencies to generate recommendations for ways to increase food and nutrition security and diet quality. In addition, the bill would require the USDA to collect and report every four years national and state sales data on types of products purchased through SNAP, aggregated and de-identified. Finally, the legislation would add to Congress’ policy declaration for SNAP the goal of improving food security, nutrition security, and diet quality.

It is important to note that the SNAP Nutrition Security Act would not change or limit the products that SNAP participants can purchase under the program or alter benefit levels in any way. The bill is a way to better measure the nutritional outcomes and food purchasing behavior of the roughly one in eight US residents who access SNAP, with the goal of providing data to improve health outcomes. Knowing the type of food being purchased will help measure food and nutrition security more accurately than self-reported data and will inform future strategies to strengthen SNAP.

Read more: SNAP Nutrition Security Act of 2023

The SNAP Food Security Act: A one-page summary of Congressional offices

How the SNAP Nutrition Security Act could improve health

SNAP is a powerful safety net program that has many positive impacts on public health for the millions of children, adults, seniors and people with disabilities who participate. The program provides financial benefits through an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card, which participants can use to purchase groceries—in store and online—at more than 250,000 retailers nationwide. SNAP is the nation’s largest funded nutrition assistance program and the first line of defense against food insecurity, a proxy for hunger. However, lower income individuals and families face systemic and structural barriers that can reduce their ability to access nutritious foods.

Although we know that SNAP is effective in reducing poverty and food insecurity, we currently do not have enough data to measure how SNAP affects participants’ access to nutritious food and consumption of nutritious foods. Although the USDA has a working definition of nutrition security, the agency does not have a formal definition or metrics for assessing nutrition security. Therefore, the agency is unable to assess SNAP’s role in reducing diet-related disease disparities through improved nutritional security.

The SNAP Nutrition Security Act would provide a more complete understanding of how SNAP affects nutritional security. This in turn could help strengthen the case for programs such as the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), a federal program designed to increase access to healthy food for individuals participating in SNAP through financial incentives for results and buy vegetables.

SNAP Nutrition Security Act: Organization signature letter

List of organizations that endorse the SNAP Nutrition Security Act

• American Heart Association;
• Action for Healthy Kids;
• Association of State Public Health Nutritionists;
• Fair;
• Bipartisan Policy Center;
• The Center for Science in the Public Interest;
• ChangeLab Solutions;
• Colorado Children’s Campaign;
• Good Measures;
• Hunger Free America;
• International Fresh Produce Association;
• José Andrés, Chef and Founder of the World Food Institute at George Washington University;
• Jump In for Healthy Kids;
• Mission: Readiness;
• National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities;
• Nemours Children’s Health;
• The Nutrition Policy Initiative at Tufts University;
• Partnership for a healthier America;
• Real Food for Kids;
• Rudd Center for Food and Health Policy at the University of Connecticut;
• Society of Behavioral Medicine;
• Center for Black Health Equity

How can you help

CSPI is working to protect SNAP and strengthen the program’s public health impacts, including by calling on policymakers to protect and strengthen benefit levels, reduce barriers to access, strengthen nutrition incentives, and environmental create healthier food retail. You can support our work today.