(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’s working with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to push through a ban on candy and soda using food stamps.
Kennedy discussed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a Cabinet meeting with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
“Thirty-eight percent of our kids are diabetic or prediabetic, and we are paying at both ends,” he told the president. “We are paying for the food or the ‘food-like substances’ that make them diabetic … and then we’re paying a trillion dollars for metabolic research. It’s existential and not sustainable.”
SNAP is run by the Department of Agriculture, not HHS, though Agriculture Chief Tom Vilsack has proposed a “Make America Healthy Again” commission to consider the ban. Rollins has also signaled support.
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Kennedy spearheaded the MAHA movement prior to his HHS appointment. The push to ban candy and sugary drinks has gained a significant boost since Kennedy became a part of Trump’s Cabinet.
The current enthusiasm appears to deviate from Trump’s first term when his administration denied a request from the state of Maine in 2018 that would have placed similar restrictions on its food stamp program.
Kansas, along with at least 15 states, including Idaho, Tennessee, Arizona, and Utah, have put forth bills sponsored by state legislators and other parties asking the federal government to allow SNAP restrictions on candy and sugary drinks, citing the need for better nutrition.
While the bans may seem intended to promote healthier choices, antihunger groups argue that it doesn’t get to the root cause and will further strain the SNAP system.
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“It is a ruse [by lobbying groups] … because any sort of harm to SNAP, anything that makes the program more difficult or stigmatizes it is a cut because it’s cutting off more people,” Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, said.
The most common barrier overall, reported by 61% of SNAP participants, was the affordability of foods that are part of a healthy diet and harder to find in low-income areas, according to a 2021 USDA survey.
“If you really care about the nutrition piece of making people healthy, can we talk about how there are not enough grocery stores within walking distance for individuals? Can we talk about the high price of vegetables and eggs?” Plata-Nino said. “If you really care about this issue, look at the systemic root causes.”
