Pappas Introduces the Protein for Every Plate Act
Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) introduced new legislation to strengthen protein food assistance to low-income families. Higher costs for groceries are impacting New Hampshire families, increasing demand for food assistance, and states are seeing their food assistance dollars stretched thin, with more expensive items, such as animal proteins, out of reach.
During his meeting with Carroll County food pantry directors last month, Pappas heard about how higher meat prices are making many food pantry directors concerned about their ability to serve their communities. To address this, Pappas’s Protein for Every Plate Act would provide an additional allotment of $200 million in entitlement funds to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) for animal protein procurement.
“The rising cost of groceries is making it harder for families to put food on the table, and it is straining organizations’ efforts to help people in need. Last month I met with directors from across Carroll County where I learned about the current protein supply gap their food pantries are facing,” said Congressman Pappas. “My new legislation would provide additional resources to TEFAP so that this critical program can deliver the food resources our communities need. I am incredibly grateful for our local organizations that serve the most vulnerable Granite Staters. I will always fight for resources to support their efforts, meet the needs of New Hampshire families, and lower food costs.”
“Many food pantries have indicated they currently face challenges providing adequate meat protein for the families they serve. Funding for additional meat purchases through TEFAP will allow states to provide a more consistent and steady supply of needed protein foods that food pantries can count on. This will go a long way in helping community food providers meet the needs of the families who rely on them,” said Randy Emerson, New Hampshire Statewide Director of Emergency Food Assistance (USDA/TEFAP Foods).
"Local food pantries are expressing the need for additional USDA proteins to meet the demands we are seeing in our communities – most recently at a meeting just last week. Randy Emerson and Tri-Cap do a great job by really trying to stretch the funding and purchase the highest quality products, but the rise of the cost of protein coupled with the limited USDA entitlement funding our state receives each year has made this harder,” said Joe Dame, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Madison Food Pantry. “The funding does not buy as much product as it did in the past so additional TEFAP funding for New Hampshire will go a long way to getting proteins distributed to many families in need. I appreciate Congressman Pappas quickly acting on local needs and introducing this legislation.”
New Hampshire families are paying more under the Trump administration and Republican Congress. Last year, Granite Staters had to pay $2,100 more of their hard-earned money on food, housing, and more due to inflation. In December, the cost of groceries saw the fastest single-month increase since October 2022. The typical American family paid $310 more for groceries during President Trump’s first year in office compared to 2024.
The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed last summer, included the largest cut to SNAP benefits in history. This put 77,000 Granite Staters at risk of losing support. It also put in place draconian cost-sharing requirements that will downshift costs from the federal government to the state, making it harder for New Hampshire to provide meals to students and families.
Background:
Pappas is a fierce advocate for lowering costs for New Hampshire families, seniors, and small business, including pushing back on President Trump’s widespread tariffs and against cuts to health care and SNAP. He is a co-sponsor of the No Tariffs on Groceries Act, which would require Congressional approval for any tariff levied on food or agricultural products, and the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025, which would repeal the cuts to SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Pappas also joined a call for the immediate exemption for essential infant and toddler products—including car seats, strollers, cribs, and highchairs—from current and future tariffs.
Pappas voted against Republicans’ reconciliation bill every time it came to the floor. Pappas filed two amendments to the Senate-passed Republican reconciliation bill to protect Granite Staters’ access to Medicaid and food assistance and to prevent Congress from passing the burden of cuts to these programs onto the state; neither was adopted. Now law, this legislation included deep cuts to health care and food programs for working families to cover the cost of $5 trillion in tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, including kicking millions of Americans off SNAP, leaving them unable to put food on the table. He spoke on the House floor against these cuts to SNAP and the impacts on Granite Staters it would have.