U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says hot rotisserie chicken from Costco is a staple on his family’s dinner table.
At $4.99 apiece, Costco’s hot rotisserie chicken is “America’s best (and delicious) affordability play,” the Democrat from Braddock said.
“It’s one of my family’s favorites,” Fetterman added.
But Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants can’t use their food benefits to buy hot rotisserie chicken from Costco or any other stores.
SNAP rules in Pennsylvania prohibit program participants from using their benefits to buy hot, prepared foods.
A bipartisan bill sponsored by Fetterman and U.S. Sens. Jim Justice, Shelley Moore Capito and Michael Bennet would change that.
“We have to give people the option to put a healthy, protein-dense choice on the table that actually tastes good and doesn’t take an hour and a half to cook,” Justice, a Republican from West Virginia, said in a statement.
Capito, also a Republican from West Virginia, said the change would help seniors, working families and those without access to reliable cooking equipment.
The Washington, D.C.-based National Chicken Council backs the proposal.
“Rotisserie chicken, a real food, is the most affordable complete protein in the grocery store. At around $7, it can feed an entire family. For the 42 million Americans on SNAP, that matters enormously,” council President Harrison Kircher said in a statement.
The bill would apply only to hot rotisserie chicken, not other hot, prepared foods. It would apply to eligible retailers, not restaurants.
The bill was introduced Tuesday and referred to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee, of which Fetterman and Bennet are members.
“Any legislation that expands food access is worth pursuing,” the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council said in a statement to TribLive. “This is one small step toward a more just food system. We hope Congress will follow it with bolder action, at both the national and state levels.”