RFK Jr. says states can – and should – block soda from food stamps benefits

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."

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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.

Why does RFK Jr. want to ban soda from SNAP benefits? 

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.

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"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?"

Why hasn’t soda and candy already been banned from SNAP? 

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.

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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 different this time?

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."

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