A bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants Americans who are on government food assistance to be able to buy hot rotisserie chickens using the SNAP program.
Senators Jim Justice (R-W.V.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) have introduced legislation that would ensure that hot rotisserie chickens are covered under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, used by low-income Americans.
The introduction of the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act comes nearly nine months after the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act was passed by a Republican majority in Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump included the largest cut to the SNAP program in history.
Here’s what to know.
What Is the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act?
The proposed legislation will allow those enrolled in the SNAP program to purchase hot rotisserie chicken, which is currently not covered by it.
The current laws regarding SNAP do not allow the purchase of hot prepared foods using the program, but do allow for cold rotisserie chicken to be bought, according to a news release about the proposed legislation.
The proposal aims to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to modify the definition of food by adding “hot rotisserie chicken.”
Companion legislation was proposed in the House of Representatives by Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) in March but was then withdrawn from consideration by Crawford due to a budgetary issue, according to the National Chicken Council.
Not all hot foods would not be covered under SNAP in the proposed legislation, according to the news release. The bill would also provide no extra funding to SNAP, which is used by about 42 million Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Hot rotisserie chickens would only be allowed to be purchased from eligible retailers, which would not include restaurants, according to the news release. Rotisserie chickens often sell for between $5 and $7 at most grocery stores.
Funding For SNAP Has Been Dramatically Reduced
While Senators Justice and Capito of West Virginia have championed the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, they also voted in favor of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025, which included what a report by the Urban Institute called “the largest cut to SNAP in history.”
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut nearly $290 billion in funding to the SNAP program over a 10-year period, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Participation in the SNAP program fell by 2.5 million people between the law’s enactment in July 2025 and December 2025, according to the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The Urban Institute report estimated that families would lose $146 a month on average and anywhere from a low of $72 to a high of $231 a month in support as a result of the bill’s passage.
Provisions in the bill included a work requirement to qualify for SNAP benefits, matching fund requirements for individual states, a cap on future increases based on inflation and removing eligibility for refugees and asylum-seekers.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
