EATS Act of 2025
Key claim: The EATS Act of 2025 would remove SNAP eligibility restrictions for otherwise eligible students attending institutions of higher education at least half time and treat such students as individual households.
Abstract
(HR4797 · 119th Congress) Enhance Access To SNAP Act of 2025 or the EATS Act of 2025 This bill expands eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for certain students. Specifically, the bill removes the restriction on SNAP eligibility for students to allow otherwise eligible students who are attending institutions of higher education (IHEs) at least half time to participate in SNAP. Under current law, students 18-49 years old are restricted from participating in SNAP, with exceptions (e.g., caring for a child under the age of 6 or employed for at least 20 hours a week). The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 temporarily exempted some students from certain SNAP eligibility requirements; these temporary student exemptions expired after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency on May 11, 2023. Further, the bill provides that students enrolled at least half time in a recognized school, training program, or IHE constitute individual households (not residents of institutions ) and may be eligible for SNAP benefits. (Participation in SNAP is limited to households.) Latest action (2025-07-29): Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Why this matters
The EATS Act would expand SNAP access to a population — half-time and full-time college students — that has faced restrictive work/care eligibility rules since the 1980s, briefly loosened during the COVID-era exemption that expired in 2023. For consumers (students), it could reduce campus food insecurity; for taxpayers, it modestly expands SNAP outlays; for retailers near campuses, it could increase eligible customer volume. Status is early: introduced and referred to committee with no markup.