Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025
Closing the Meal Gap Act of 2025 would make SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits follow the cost of a “low-cost food plan” rather than the current thrifty plan. The bill defines a specific 4-person family to guide computations, requires periodic reevaluations of the low-cost plan based on current prices and dietary data, and makes regional adjustments (for Hawaii and Alaska) as well as household-size economies of scale. It also increases the share of benefits tied to the plan’s cost (changing a proviso from 8% to 10%), and updates several program provisions to reflect the switch to the low-cost plan. In addition, the bill eliminates time limits for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD) and broadens deductions for medical expenses and shelter costs. The law would be implemented through numerous conforming changes to the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 and related provisions. The bill was introduced in the Senate in September 2025 by Senators Gillibrand, Fetterman, Booker, and Sanders.
Key Points
- 1Low-cost food plan-based benefit calculations
- 2- Defines a low-cost food plan for a 4-person reference family (two adults aged 19-50; one child 6-8; one child 9-11).
- 3- Requires reevaluation of the plan by December 31, 2031, and every 5 years thereafter, using current prices, food data, consumption patterns, and dietary guidance.
- 4- Establishes the cost as the basis for uniform allotments across households, with household-size adjustments, Hawaii adjustments, Alaska adjustments (urban/rural), and annual cost updates (October 1 each year) based on the prior June costs, rounded down to the nearest dollar per household size.
- 5Allotment value and cross-references
- 6- Replaces references to the “thrifty food plan” with the “low-cost food plan” throughout the Act.
- 7- In the proviso of the allotment calculation, raises the applicable rate from 8% to 10%.
- 8- Requires conforming amendments to ensure all references reflect the new plan (including updates to related sections and cross-references).
- 9Deductions from income (medical and shelter)
- 10- Medical: Establishes a “standard medical expense deduction” of $140 for fiscal year 2025, with subsequent years indexed to the CPI for medical care; states may set higher deductions if cost-neutral under Secretary-approved standards.
- 11- Shelter: Eliminates the cap on excess shelter expenses (removing the previous limit that constrained deductions for housing costs).
- 12Elimination of time limits
- 13- Removes the ABAWD time limit provision, effectively extending SNAP benefits without the prior 3- or 6-month time caps for able-bodied adults without dependents in many cases.
- 14- Makes a series of conforming amendments across multiple sections to remove the time-limit framework and update references accordingly.
- 15Administrative and fiscal provisions
- 16- Section 2 and related areas include adjustments and cross-references to reflect the low-cost plan; sections on quality control specify initial and subsequent-year funding and adjustment details tied to the new plan.
- 17- Some provisions include specific fiscal year parameters (e.g., a cap that would apply in 2025 and adjustments in 2026 based on the difference between the old and new plans) and other related amendments to ensure consistency across the Act.