California leads huge nationwide spike in fast food SNAP spending with $475M

More than half a billion dollars in SNAP benefits went to restaurants over a two-year period — and California alone accounted for nearly all of the spending outside the other eight states combined.Freshman Rep.Brandon Gill unveiled legislation Thursday to eliminate the Restaurant Meals Program, which allows certain SNAP recipients to use their benefits for hot meals at approved restaurants.The numbers are likely to fuel the debate: From June 2023 through May 2025, more than $524 million in SNAP benefits were redeemed at participating restaurants across nine states, according to data provided to Gill and Iowa Sen.

Joni Ernst.California accounted for approximately $475 million.Gill says taxpayers should not be footing the restaurant tab through a program he believes has strayed from SNAP’s intended purpose.“SNAP is supposed to help struggling Americans put nutritious food on the table, not stick taxpayers with the bill for fast food,” Gill told The Post in a statement.The gap between California and the other states is enormous.Arizona ranked second with $41.4 million, followed by New York at $3.6 million.Michigan accounted for $1.3 million, Rhode Island for $995,900, Massachusetts for $649,000, Illinois for $497,000, Virginia for $308,500 and Maryland for $8,600.California’s spending comes as its CalFresh program serves more than 5 million people.

Roughly 13% of Californians rely on EBT benefits to purchase food.Los Angeles County alone has more than 1.5 million EBT users, while children represent roughly 40% of statewide CalFresh enrollment.The Restaurant Meals Program is currently operating in nine states: Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.California has expanded the program statewide, with participating restaurants in heavily populated areas including Los Angeles, San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area.Thousands of approved restaurants accept benefits, including Subway, KFC, Taco Bell...