TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – For a program designed in 1964 to keep low-income families from going hungry, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – formerly known as the Food Stamp Program – sure found itself tangled up in a very 2025 problem: people using federal benefits for drive-thru dinners. While the main SNAP rules say “no hot food” and no ready-to-eat meals, a little-known 1977 federal carve-out – the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP) – lets states opt in and approve certain restaurants for seniors, people with disabilities, and the homeless.
Michigan opted in and Michiganders noticed.
The spending is not enormous, but definitely eyebrow-raising. According to figures compiled by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s office, Michigan saw about $1.3 million in SNAP benefits spent through RMP from June 2023 to May 2025. So while Michigan shells out about $260 million federal dollars a month in total SNAP food assistance, the fast-food restaurant piece of the pie isn’t exactly draining the treasury but the entire amount spent in the country (roughly $524 million nationwide in nine RMP states), is big enough to make headlines, inspire some McDonald’s memes, and get the attention of at least one Republican who wants the program reviewed and revised.
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Michigan’s numbers look modest compared to what happened nationally. The RMP program ballooned under the Biden administration, with California alone approving more than 5,800 restaurants and spending more than $475 million in the program – a scale that turned the once-niche carve-out into a full-blown fast-food ecosystem.
Michigan’s RMP All-Stars.
When Michigan SNAP dollars do land in a drive-thru, here’s where they go: Subway (62 locations), KFC (33 locations), McDonald’s (12 locations) and Domino’s (9 locations). Also listed on the “Michigan Restaurant Meal Program – Participating Restaurant List ” are some local diners and mom- and-pop spots trying to keep up with corporate combo-meal empires.
And the cities leading the pack who accept SNAP dollars? Detroit (18 restaurants), Jackson (7 restaurants), Lansing (6 restaurants), and Grand Rapids (5 restaurants). If you’re sensing a pattern, it’s that these tend to be places with dense populations, high poverty rates, and limited fresh-food access. Many also advertise with signs that say “EBT accepted here.”
Enter Republican Senator and the fast-food fight.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst has decided to take aim at the RMP loophole altogether, arguing that SNAP shouldn’t bankroll value meals. Her legislation, “The McStopping Chains from Using SNAP EBT to Make Entrees (McSCUSE ME) Act” focuses on reforming the RMP with vendor eligibility limited to grocery stores and other retailers, excluding quick-service chains and fast food restaurants. It also requires detailed public reporting. Ernst said about the situation, “The ‘N’ in SNAP stands for nutrition – not nuggets with a side of fries.”
Ernst says the program’s been stretched way beyond its original intent which was to provide food to homeless people without a kitchen. Critics say removing it punishes seniors and homeless residents who rely on prepared food because they can’t cook. Either way, Michigan is now caught in the middle of a national argument about whether helping people eat should include Big Mac and a large order of fries.
And with nearly 300 approved restaurant locations across Michigan and more than $1.3 million in SNAP dollars spent at them in the last two years, this fight is just starting. Whether SNAP reforms actually remake Michigan’s menu of options or just spark another partisan food fight, one thing’s certain: the Restaurant Meals Program is now the latest hottest item on Michigan’s – and America’s – policy grill.
