Res. No.
Resolution calling on Congress to pass, and the President to sign, S.1202/H.R.2512, the “Hot Foods Act of 2025,” to permit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to be used to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption
By Council Member Schulman
Whereas, The United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food insecurity as a limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food necessary for an active, healthy life for all household members; and
Whereas, Furthermore, the USDA defines very low food security as the more severe range of food insecurity, where one or more household members experience(s) reduced food intake and disrupted eating patterns at times during the year due to inadequate resources for obtaining food; and
Whereas, According to 2025 reporting from the USDA, 13.7 percent of U.S. households were food insecure, and 5.4 percent of U.S. households had very low food security at least some time during 2024; and
Whereas, The USDA also reported that 18.4% of U.S. households with children experienced food insecurity at least some time in 2024; and
Whereas, Data from the USDA also reveal that the rates of food insecurity and very low food security among households in New York State have increased since 2020, from 11.3 percent to 14.0 percent, and from 4.2 percent to 5.6 percent, respectively; and
Whereas, According to the 2025 Food Metrics Report by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP), the rate of food insecurity for New York City residents is even higher than the State average, with 16.8 percent of residents, representing more than 1.4 million people, experiencing food insecurity in the previous year; and
Whereas, Per the Food Metrics Report and data from Feeding America’s 2025 Map the Meal Gap report, in 2023, the latest year for which this data is available, the Bronx had the highest rate of food insecurity of all five New York City boroughs at 22.6 percent (320,380 people), followed by Brooklyn at 17.1 percent (453,290 people), Manhattan at 16.5 percent (268,570 people), Queens at 14.1 percent (328,760 people), and Staten Island at 12.5 percent (61,370 people); and
Whereas, The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation’s primary food benefits program for supporting food insecure households; and
Whereas, According to a 2022 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, SNAP reduces the prevalence of food insecurity by as much as 30 percent and is associated with improved current and long-term health and lower healthcare costs; and
Whereas, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, 12.3 percent of the U.S. population received SNAP benefits; and
Whereas, in New York State, SNAP usage is even higher than the national average, at 14.7%; and
Whereas, As of June 2025, 1,796,8300 New Yorkers, or around 20 percent of the city’s population, participated in SNAP, according to the MOFP; and
Whereas, Brooklyn had the highest monthly average number of SNAP recipients at 628,700 people, followed by the Bronx at 503,000 people, Queens at 359,300 people, Manhattan at 235,500 people, and Staten Island at 71,800 people; and
Whereas, U.S.C. Title 7, Chapter 51, Section 2012, which governs SNAP, explicitly excludes in Sub-Section (k) from the definition of SNAP-qualified food purchases “hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption”; and
Whereas, In a 2021 study by the USDA on barriers constraining the adequacy of SNAP allotments, the most common (as reported by 30 percent of the study’s participants) obstacle to preparing healthy meals from scratch was a lack of time or “time poverty,” especially among low-income working parents, followed by physical disability (15 percent of the respondents), a lack of storage for cooked and fresh food (14 percent of the participants), and a lack of cooking equipment (11 percent of the respondents); and
Whereas, Per the same 2021 USDA study, SNAP participants who reported a lack of cooking equipment or a lack of storage for cooked or fresh food as a barrier to preparing healthy meals from scratch were 1.6 times more likely to experience low or very low household food security; and
Whereas S.1202/H.R.2512, known as the Hot Foods Act of 2025, sponsored by U.S Senator Michael F. Bennet and U.S. House Representative Grace Meng, would amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to permit SNAP benefits to be used to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption; and
Whereas, Allowing SNAP recipients to use their benefits to purchase hot foods which do not require at-home preparation would help address the barriers of “time poverty,” physical disability, a lack of storage for food, and a lack of cooking equipment, thereby reducing food insecurity and improving the health and well-being of U.S. individuals and households; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on Congress to pass, and the President to sign, S.1202/H.R.2512, the “Hot Foods Act of 2025,” to permit Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to be used to purchase hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.
AZ/PJR
LS #14599
Res. #0025-2024
3/20/2026 2:47 PM