Bill > A4780

Introduced Session

This bill directs the Division of Family Development in the Department of Human Services (division) to establish the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program, a rebranding of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that promotes the program, and provides program benefits, exclusively to veterans. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, is a nutrition assistance program that serves as a safety net for low-income households. The bill defines "veteran" to mean any enlisted person or officer who was discharged or otherwise released from active service in the United States Armed Forces, or any reserve component thereof, or the organized militia of New Jersey under conditions other than dishonorable, or as otherwise provided in State law. Nationwide, according to recent research, 7.5 percent of veterans do not have enough food, but less than 5 percent of those veterans are enrolled in SNAP. It is the sponsor's goal to increase veterans' utilization of the food assistance benefits they have earned and deserve by rebranding SNAP specifically for veterans. In order to implement the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program, the division is required to: 1) design, and distribute to eligibility determination agencies of SNAP, promotional materials, applications, and any other documents associated with SNAP with the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program name and branding; 2) design and issue to eligible beneficiaries electronic benefits transfer cards that bear the name and branding of the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program; 3) develop a website, separate and distinct from the State's SNAP website, with the name and branding of the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program; and 4) collaborate with the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs to ensure that information regarding the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program is distributed to each county Veteran Service Office in the State and posted on the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs' webpage. The bill explicitly states that that its provisions are not to be construed to: 1) alter eligibility, benefits, funding, or any federal requirement of SNAP, as it exists upon the effective date of the bill or as it is rebranded to establish the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program; 2) discontinue or alter any existing promotional materials, program documents, or websites associated with SNAP, as they exist upon the effective date of the bill; or 3) replace SNAP with the Veterans Assistance for Nutritional Needs Program.

Committee Categories

Alex Sauickie (R)*,  Mike Torrissi (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee (on 09/19/2024)

Official Document