Latest news with #HealthySNAPAct
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ohio senator backs plan to limit SNAP purchases
(WKBN) – Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) is backing legislation that would limit SNAP purchases. Husted announced Thursday that he is joining Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) in support of Lee's Healthy SNAP Act. The bill would exclude soft drinks, candy, ice cream and prepared desserts from being purchased with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Husted said the SNAP system is broken and unhealthy. 'American taxpayers are footing the bill on both ends of a broken system: first, by subsidizing the consumption of unhealthy, ultra-processed foods, and then again by covering the skyrocketing health care costs caused by the chronic diseases those foods contribute to. In effect, we're paying to make ourselves sick—and then paying again to treat the sickness,' said Husted. The bill would also require the Agriculture Department to review which foods qualify under SNAP every five years so that SNAP food guidelines reflect current nutrition data. According to WKBN 27 First News media partner News Nation, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for the government to stop allowing the nearly $113 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans to use benefits to pay for 'soda or processed foods,' which has been echoed by his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) political action committee. Those against the measure say that economically disadvantaged consumers face financial barriers, saying that healthier foods are more costly and many SNAP recipients live in food deserts where fresh, healthy foods are not available. In Ohio, over 1.4 million people receive SNAP benefits: Trumbull County – 33,061 – 16.56% of the population Mahoning County – 42,485 – 18.82% of the population Columbiana County – 14,319 – 14.27% of the population Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. says states can – and should – block soda from food stamps benefits
The Brief Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's health secretary, is encouraging states to apply for waivers that will allow them to ban people from buying sodas using food stamps benefits. Kennedy has been the most vocal about the issue, but he's not alone in his push to ban certain foods from being banned under the SNAP program. Bills are pending in Congress and in several states to restrict SNAP benefits from paying for soda, candy and other items. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says states will now be allowed to ban people from using SNAP benefits – better known as food stamps – to pay for sodas. Kennedy made the announcement Friday at an event in Martinsburg, West Virginia, a state that just passed legislation banning foods that contain most artificial food dyes from being served at schools. It's the first state to do so, according to The New York Times. Kennedy has been vocal about the issue through his "Make America Healthy Again" campaign, calling for the government to stop allowing the nearly $113 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans to use benefits to pay for " soda or processed foods." RELATED: Utah bans fluoride in public drinking water; 1st state to do so And he's not alone. Bills are pending in Congress and in several states to restrict SNAP benefits from paying for soda, candy and other items. What they're saying "I commend the 24 states pushing MAHA bills to clean up our food system, improve school lunches, submit waivers to SNAP, and promote patient choice," Kennedy said on X. "This state leadership adds leverage to the Trump administration's drive to Make America Healthy Again. I urge every Governor to follow West Virginia's lead and submit a waiver to the USDA to remove soda from SNAP. If there's one thing we can agree on, it should be eliminating taxpayer-funded soda subsidies for lower income kids. I look forward to inviting every Governor who submits a waiver to come celebrate with me at the White House this fall." Rep. Josh Breechan, an Oklahoma Republican, sponsored the Healthy SNAP Act in Congress. "If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that's up to them," he said. "But what we're saying is, 'Don't ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences.'" The other side Anti-hunger advocates point to research that shows SNAP recipients are no more likely than other low-income Americans to buy sugary drinks or snack foods. And they say that limiting food choices undermines the autonomy and dignity of people who receive, on average, about $187 per month — or about $6.16 per day, according to latest figures. RELATED: RFK Jr. reportedly plans to ban pharmaceutical ads on TV "This is just another way to cut benefits," said Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group. "It's like, how do we restrict people more? How do we stigmatize them more?" Dig deeper Removing certain foods from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, isn't as simple as it sounds. The program is run by the USDA, not HHS, and is administered through individual states. It is authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which says SNAP benefits can be used for "any food or food product intended for human consumption," except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods, including those prepared for immediate consumption. RELATED: McCormick dropping food dyes under pressure from RFK Jr, US regulators Excluding any foods requires Congress to change the law — or for states to get waivers that would let them restrict purchases, as West Virginia has done. Over the past 20 years, lawmakers in several states have proposed stopping SNAP from paying for bottled water, soda, chips, ice cream, decorated cakes and "luxury meats" like steak. "None of those requests have ever been approved under either Republican or Democratic presidents," Bergh said. In the past, Agriculture Department officials rejected the waivers, saying in a 2007 paper that no clear standards exist to define foods "as good or bad, or healthy or not healthy." In addition, the agency said restrictions would be difficult to implement, complicated and costly. And they might not change recipients' food purchases or reduce conditions such as obesity. What's next This moment could be different, said Dr. Anand Parekh, chief medical officer of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who oversees the USDA, is on board with allowing the state waivers, Kennedy said. "When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?" Rollins said in February. "These are all massive questions we're going to be asking and working on in the coming months and years." Big picture view Health advocates say the momentum behind Kennedy's "Make America Healthy Again" movement could spur a new focus on solutions to poor diets that account for leading risk factors for early disease and death. "When we talk about the SNAP program, we have to remind people that the 'N' stands for nutrition," Parekh said. "It's about time that both parties can come together and see what are the innovations here to improve diet quality and nutrition." The Source This report includes information from The Associated Press, The New York Times and comments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP bill would ban SNAP recipients from buying junk food
A U.S. House bill introduced earlier this month would bar those on food stamps from using them to buy soft drinks, candy and more. Rep. Josh Brecheen, an Oklahoma Republican, sponsored the Healthy SNAP Act on Jan. 16. The bill would exclude junk food from benefits provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the official name for food stamps — while requiring any SNAP-eligible foods to 'promote the health of SNAP recipients and reflect nutrition science, public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns.' About 850,000 Marylanders use SNAP, according to the Maryland Department of Human Services. 'If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, that's up to them,' Breechen said. 'But what we're saying is, don't ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences.' Specifically, Brecheen's bill would exclude soft drinks, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies and cookies and other similar foods. About 20% of SNAP benefits currently are used to purchase junk foods and sugary drinks, according to a fact sheet accompanying the legislation. SNAP benefits may be used to buy fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, bread, cereal, snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages. They cannot be used to buy items like alcohol, tobacco, vitamins and pet food. Breechen noted that Trump cabinet picks such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who has vowed to 'make America healthy again' — have advocated excluding junk food from SNAP benefits. In 2024, Rubio and Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, led a bipartisan effort seeking to allow the government to collect more data on SNAP purchases. Their effort was designed to 'improve nutrition security and diet quality' to better inform Congress in setting policies for SNAP benefits. Booker and Rubio said in a joint statement at the time that poor nutrition is the leading factor for chronic disease. 'SNAP plays a crucial role in alleviating poverty and food insecurity, but needs to do better at improving nutrition security and diet quality for program participants,' Booker said in a July statement. Breechen's bill to reform SNAP has support from a wide swath of Republicans — mostly representing southern states. Similar bills have been introduced in the past and gone nowhere, but this year Republicans hold both chambers of Congress and the White House. That gives them better odds of passing changes to SNAP than in past sessions. -----------
