Across social media, influencers share tips for how to eat a whole rotisserie chicken, bones and all. The food is a hot item, literally and figuratively, as warehouse retailer Costco reported in January that it had sold 157.4 million chickens globally in 2025.
Now, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing to allow families on food stamps to use their benefits to buy the chickens. It’s a bipartisan effort ushered by Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., who said it supports both families and the chicken industry.
“It is just plain common sense to allow SNAP participants to purchase a rotisserie chicken with their benefits,” Crawford said in a Thursday press release. “Hot rotisserie chicken is healthy, widely available, popular in grocery stores, and aligned with the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans.”
If a person wants to purchase a chicken with their SNAP benefits, Crawford said the birds would currently need to be cold and packaged. Harrison Kircher, president of the National Chicken Council, said the cooling process is a waste of energy while adding costs to the food.
“At around $7, it can feed an entire family. For the 42 million Americans on SNAP, that matters enormously,” he said in a Thursday press release.
Sens. Jim Justice, R-W.V., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
Already, Crawford’s bill has bipartisan support with seven Democrats and 13 other Republicans joining as cosponsors.
“As a mom who put dinner on the table every night, I can’t tell you how many times a hot rotisserie chicken has come to the rescue,” Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., said in a press release. “It’s ridiculous for the government to tell working parents they can’t buy such a common staple for an affordable, quick, healthy meal.”
SNAP rules restrict certain purchases
The bills would modify what purchases people can make using their SNAP funds. If an item is prohibited, a person must either use a different form of payment or forfeit the item. Rules were established under the 2008 Food and Nutrition Act.
Certain foods have remained excluded for purchase with SNAP benefits as the law considered “foods” to be anything that isn’t alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot foods or ready-to-eat hot food products. It also excluded coffee, tea, hot chocolate, carbonated and uncarbonated drinks, candy, condiments, live animals, pet food, vitamins and supplements, foods with controlled substances and spices for purchase.
SNAP benefits are generally not allowed to be used to buy fast food, but states allow a certain class of individuals to do so under the restaurant meals program. Those individuals are anyone 60 years of age or older, a person who receives disability or blindness benefits, a person who is homeless or the spouse of an eligible recipient.
The program is active in Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has signed food waivers for 22 states that restricted certain food items from purchase. Restrictions can be on soft drinks, energy drinks, items with less than 50% of natural juices, prepared desserts and “sugar-sweetened” beverages.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, I have encouraged states to serve as the ‘laboratories of innovation,’” Rollins said in a May 19, 2025, press release on Nebraska’s restriction waiver. “Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and Governors in Iowa, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, and Colorado are pioneers in improving the health of our nation.”
Rotisserie chicken lauded for accessible health benefits
Rotisserie chickens have become a common staple for offering quick, easy dinners on a budget as they cost around $6 for an entire bird.
Dietitians chimed in on the craze, adding that it’s a good source of protein, averaging about 36 grams per cup of meat. Registered Dietitian Jamie Allers of Hartford HealthCare Digestive Health Institute in Connecticut said in 2023 that the chickens are nearly comparable to an oven-roasted chicken.
She cautioned people to read labels to scout additives that drive down a rotisserie chicken’s nutritional value. A “good” label will list just chicken on the ingredient list.
“They add these other compounds – gums, stabilizers – to add flavor and moistness and make it look appetizing,” she said.
Still, the food is praised for its overall versatility and benefits compared to other hot options.
“It’s still lower in fat and calories than fast food,” Allers said. “It’s serving its purpose – it’s fast, but it can still help you create a balanced meal. Add some frozen broccoli and brown rice or sweet potato, and it becomes far more balanced than fast food.”
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