A common refrain from the left whenever one proposes reforms to the SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) program, as far as limiting what may be purchased on that program, is that “You can’t tell people what they can and can’t eat!” Of course, the proper reply to that is, “If I’m paying for it, I damn well can.”
Advertisement
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has now adopted that position. She has reached out to the incoming Trump administration heads of Agriculture and Health and Human Services to see what can be done to end the purchase of junk food using these taxpayer-funded benefits. This is a long-overdue move.
Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has sent a letter to the incoming Trump administration heads of the Health and Agriculture departments, calling for the end of junk food as part of the federal food stamp program.
“As you know, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a $113 billion federal program designed to support low income families with food assistance,” Sanders wrote in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital to HHS Secretary-nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary-nominee Brooke Rollins. “Unfortunately, this ‘Nutrition Assistance’ program is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayers’ dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food.”
“In fact, soda, unhealthy snacks, candy, and dessert account for nearly 23 percent, or $25 billion, of all SNAP purchases. Given the relationship between junk food and poor health, our federal food assistance policies are fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions around America.”
Advertisement
It is belaboring the obvious to point out that these benefits are intended for nutrition. It is called, after all, the “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” not the “Supplemental Junk Food Assistance Program.” Furthermore, this isn’t just a matter of the taxpayer’s money being wasted; it’s a matter of public health. This kind of restriction could really be a key part of “Make America Healthy Again.”
Sanders cited the work of Stanford University Professor Jayanta Bhattacharya, nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the National Institutes of Health, which concluded that removing sugary drinks and snacks from the SNAP program would prevent obesity in 141,000 children and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults.
This is a system in serious need of reform and would make another great target for the DOGE.
See Related: Food Pantries and Welfare Reform: If We Want to Feed Hungry People, This Is How to Do It
San Francisco Opens First Taxpayer-Funded ‘Free’ Food Market—What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
If the goal is to provide nutrition to those who otherwise can’t afford it, then there are a few basic reforms that would help a lot.
First: Limit purchases to actual nutrition. Lean turkey or chicken, rice, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables. No prepared “take and bake” pizzas or sandwiches. No candy, ice cream pastries, or soft drinks.
Advertisement
Second: No convenience store purchases. Acceptance should be limited to grocery stores, including outlets like the “Super” Target and Walmart stores that have grocery sections. There is a premium paid for convenience; the taxpayers should not be subsidizing it.
Third: Anyone caught abusing the program, trading benefits, or the food purchased with them for cash or other commodities receives a lifetime ban from the program.
It would be preferable to see the system done away with altogether and replaced with a community food bank system. But Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proposed a good start. This is a suggestion that should be taken seriously by the incoming Trump administration. Quick, someone call Robert F. Kennedy Jr.!
