On Thursday, a spokesperson for the US Department of Agriculture confirmed that four Republican-led states have submitted applications to the USDA requesting permission to exclude soda, energy drinks, candy, and some other foods from the federal food stamp program.
The Trump administration has stated that it will expedite the approval of such exemption requests submitted by states as part of its “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, a slogan promoted by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and its supporters.
Commonly known as the food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest food assistance program in the US, benefiting over 41 million Americans.
A spokesperson for the USDA told Reuters on Thursday that the four Republican-led states of Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Indiana have submitted exemption requests to the agency. However, the USDA did not provide copies of the exemption requests to the news agency.
According to a copy of the exemption request posted on Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s website, Arkansas hopes to exclude soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice content, “unhealthy drinks,” and candy from the federal food stamp program implemented within the state.
According to a press release issued by Indiana Governor Mike Braun on April 15, the state aims to exclude candy and soda from the food stamp program.
In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on April 7, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen also stated that Nebraska will apply to remove soda and energy drinks from the food stamp program.
Lobbying groups for soda and candy companies have criticized these exemption requests. Some anti-hunger organizations and lawmakers have expressed that restricting certain categories of food in the food stamp program is an insult to welfare recipients.
(Note: This article references reporting from Reuters)