A dozen states will join Nebraska in banning the purchase of junk food with food stamps
Indiana and Iowa have already signed on to waivers pushed by the Trump administration that prohibit using federal money for high-sugar foods.
Brooke Rollins (l), secretary of agriculture, made the announcement
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) event that the Trump administration is approving numerous waivers that will eliminate the purchase of junk food, soda and high-sugar foods through the food stamp program (SNAP).
This Monday, Nebraska became the first state to sign the waiver from Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, making it the first state to ban the purchase of junk food with food stamps. According to Rollins, Indiana and Iowa also signed the waivers pushed by the Trump administration, while a dozen other states are preparing to join the policy.
"We are on track to sign multiples of snap waivers to get junk food and sugary drinks out of our food stamp system," Rollins said Thursday during an event featuring a MAHA Commission report on how to address childhood chronic disease.
"That has never happened before under Republican or Democrat administrations," Rollins added. "We have never made that happen before. So I am so proud and so grateful."
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In addition to Nebraska, Indiana, and Iowa, six other states- Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia- have filed similar applications with the USDA. Some waivers seek to directly restrict the purchase of certain foods and beverages with SNAP funds, while others propose expanding access to hot meals for program recipients.
Some Republican governors have publicly requested the waivers to join the federal government's initiative.
"SNAP was created to increase access to nutritious food; however, many SNAP purchases are for food with little to no nutritious value," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter to Rollins last week, where he formally requested a waiver.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, one of the main drivers of these waivers, has also spearheaded other MAHA-related initiatives in his state. In March, for example, he signed into law House Bill 2354, which made West Virginia the first state in the country to ban certain synthetic dyes and additives present in locally marketed food products.
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