LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called for reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) via a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary-Designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary-Designate Brooke Rollins.
In the letter, Sanders outlines her concerns that the program is "encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food."
She stated that soda, snacks, candy, and dessert make up nearly 23%, or $25 billion of all SNAP purchases. She also claimed that "our federal food assistance policies are fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions across America."
The governor cited research from Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and his Stanford colleagues and said that "prohibiting sugary drinks and soda from SNAP would prevent obesity in 141,000 kids and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults."
Gov. Sanders asked that the administration to consider prohibiting the sale of junk food in SNAP.
Additionally, she expressed her intent to pursue a SNAP Waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to support fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and protein and prohibit using SNAP for junk food.
Those using the benefits are currently allowed to buy most groceries as well as the ability to buy plants and seeds to grow their own food. SNAP benefits cannot be used to buy alcohol, tobacco, nutritional supplements, medicine, or pet food.
Research shows that food insecurity can be reduced as much as 30% for those using SNAP benefits, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nearly 89% of SNAP benefits currently go to households at or below the poverty line.
As of April 2023, data suggests that around 12.5% of the U.S. population received SNAP benefits.
To read the governor's full letter, please click here.
