Legislature advances bill to let eligible SNAP recipients buy prepared meals at approved restaurants

The Guam Legislature placed Bill 78-38 COR — a measure to establish a restaurant meals program (RMP) that would allow eligible Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients to buy prepared meals at authorized restaurants — onto the third-reading (voting) file after floor debate and an amendment.

Senator Calvo, the bill's sponsor, told colleagues the measure aims to expand food access for seniors, people with disabilities, and people experiencing homelessness by allowing those who cannot prepare meals to use EBT at approved restaurants and mobile vendors. She said Guam receives more than $100,000,000 in federal SNAP allocations annually and argued that "keeping these federal dollars circulating on Guam benefits restaurants, retailers, and agricultural producers."

The bill as amended conditions program implementation on both federal approval and an identified funding source. During floor questions members raised concerns about startup and ongoing costs and the potential impact of pending federal changes to SNAP rules. A member representing MTM asked whether a proposed U.S. House budget provision that could require territories to shoulder 5% to 25% of SNAP costs would affect Guam's ability to fund an RMP. Senator Calvo answered that the bill "explicitly conditions implementation of the RMP on an identified funding source and federal approval" and said she had discussed possible funding options with the Office of Finance and Budget (OFB) and DPHSS, identifying roughly $470,000 to $500,000 in potential start-up funding from lapsed/unexpended DPHSS balances.

Supporters said RMP would improve nutrition access, reduce reliance on emergency food services and keep federal SNAP dollars in the local economy. They cited other states' experience—California, Massachusetts and others—that have implemented RMP and, in some cases, adapted it to include food trucks and delivery options for homebound residents. Opponents and skeptical speakers raised questions about the program's cost estimates (witnesses and members referenced figures ranging from about $400,000 to $1,000,000 for first-year start-up), the administrative burden on DPHSS, the need for clear guardrails to protect nutrition outcomes and fraud prevention, and the timing of local implementation while federal SNAP rules remain in flux.

On the floor the Legislature approved a single-word amendment that changed the bill's language on the department's duty from "shall" to "may" (page 6, line 16) and then the body unanimously (no objections recorded in the provided transcript) moved the amended bill to the third-reading/voting file. The author subsequently added a list of cosponsors on the floor. The transcript shows the bill's placement on the voting file but does not record a final third-reading roll-call vote in the portion provided.

What to watch next: Implementation requires federal approval of Guam's amended SNAP plan and the Legislature or agency must identify and authorize local funding before DPHSS establishes the program. The bill's supporters and DPHSS indicated the development and federal approval process could take 12 to 16 months.