AG Secretary says states line up with basin soda, junk food in food stamps program
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a MAHA event on Thursday that the Trump administration is approving numerous exemptions to eliminate junk food from the food stamp program.
Rollins signed the first time in Nebraska on Monday with Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. She said she also signed immunities for Indiana and Iowa, “a group of six people is growing,” she said.
“We are expected to sign multiples of the snapshot exemption to get junk food and sugary drinks from our food stamp system,” Rollins said at an event Thursday afternoon. With the Trump administration Maha committee released a 69-page report on how to affect changes around children's chronic diseases.
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Brooke Rollins, the Trump administration’s agriculture secretary, said Thursday that she would sign multiple exemptions to allow states to ban junk food in a few food stamp plans this week, describing its efforts as the historicity of any presidential administration. (Getty Images/Istock)
“This has never happened under the Republican or Democratic administration,” Rollins added. “We have never achieved this before. So I'm very proud and grateful.”
According to a MAHA report released at Thursday’s event, an average of 42 million low-income Americans receive food stamp aid per month. It added that one in five American children under the age of 17 receive snapshot benefits.
Under Nebraska’s waiver, it became the first country in the U.S. to accept a federal food stamp program, unable to use the money to buy junk food, soda and other high-sugar products. According to local media reports, the exemption will begin with a two-year pilot program.
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Through the USDA waiver, several Republican-led states are lined up to ban junk food in the food stamp program. (iStock)
Other Republican-led states, including Texas and West Virginia, have also applied for the waiver.
“SNAP was created to increase access to nutritious foods; however, many purchases are used for foods with little nutritional value,” Greg Abbott, a Republican Governor of Texas, wrote in a letter to Rollins.
“Under the Trump administration, since the program was authorized, states can take steps to eliminate the opportunity to buy junk food with fast profits and ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are used only to buy healthy, nutritious food.”
West Virginia, Nebraska and Texas all demand exemption from junk food from food stamp programs. [FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: West Virginia Gov. Patric Morrisey (R); Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R); Texas Gov. Greg Abott] (Getty Images/Fox News)
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West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey is one of the leaders demanding exemptions and he also leads other Maha efforts in his state. In March, Morrisey signed the House bill of 2354 into law, making it the first state in the United States to start banning the use of certain synthetic dyes and additives in foods sold in the state.
