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 Low-income Illinoisans who are homeless, disabled or older
might soon be able to use their food stamps at a fast-food restaurant.
House Bill 3343 would establish the Restaurant Meals Program as part of the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, administered by the Illinois
Department of Human Services. The program would allow those enrolled in SNAP to
use their benefits on meals at fast-food restaurants.
The bill passed the Illinois House of Representatives on March 23 and is now
making its way through the Illinois Senate.
 Currently, SNAP recipients can purchase food at grocery stores and farmers
markets, but not at restaurants.
Proponents of the bill say food stamp recipients have limited options for a hot
meal.
“Somebody who’s homeless, for example, they don’t have a place to prepare that
food or somebody who’s disabled, they’re not able to come home and cook a meal
themselves,” state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, told WICS-TV.
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While he favors the bill, he isn’t without his
concerns.
“The prices of foods at restaurants are higher than
what it might be at the grocery store and so, there’s a little bit
of a trade-off there. So we want to make sure people aren’t running
out of benefits at the end of the month,” Demmer told the TV
station.
If signed into law, Illinois on Jan. 1, 2020, would join California
and Arizona in allowing food stamp recipients to use their benefits
at restaurants. Both states currently allow benefits to be used at
Subway and Jack in the Box. Florida and Rhode Island have pilot
programs, and Maryland is considering a bill similar to Illinois’.
The state would need to certify restaurants to participate, just as
grocery stores are now under SNAP. The Restaurant Meals Program
would be available to low-income Illinois residents who are
homeless, disabled, over 60 and their spouses.
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