Michigan supersizes fast food SNAP program

Michigan is seeing a spike in the popularity of a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that allows some people on food stamps to use their Bridge cards at fast food restaurants.

The state’s reimbursements from the federal government for the Restaurant Meals Program increased geometrically between 2022 and 2025. Payments from Washington rose from $26,656 in 2022 to $37,255 in 2023. The figure jumped to $580,568 in 2024 and last year spiked to $2.4 million.

From 2024 to 2025, the increase in reimbursement increased by 313%, according to the data from a Freedom of Information Act request that was filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The number of restaurants participating in the program rose from 50 in 2022 to 292 in 2025.

RMP Annual State Redemptions 1-1-2020!12!31_2025 by mcclallen

The Restaurant Meals Program was launched Jan. 1, 2021. It allows people on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) who are elderly, homeless and disabled to use their electronic benefit transfer cards at participating restaurants, many of which are fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Subway, KFC and Taco Bell.

The Restaurant Meals Program is offered to people who may have trouble getting hot prepared meals.

“The Restaurant Meal Program expands options for individuals who need hot prepared meals,” said Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in a 2024 statement. “Additional restaurants are joining the program regularly and the goal is to provide this service in every county in the state.”

Michigan is one of nine states to adopt the USDA program. The other states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia.

Restaurants are not allowed to charge sales tax or include tips on RMP transactions. People eligible for the Restaurant Meal Program cannot charge alcohol or delivery fees on their cards.

In 2024, the state estimated that about 322,000 seniors and residents with disabilities and 52,000 homeless people were eligible to use their Bridge cards to buy meals at participating restaurants.