YET another popular grocery product may soon be banned after 51 years, as state lawmakers seek to promote healthier eating practices among Americans.
Under impending new SNAP regulations, sweetened beverages may be off limits – and even more grocery staples may be at risk as officials pursue initiatives outlined by Trump’s Make America Healthy Again campaign.
Lawmakers are looking to ban certain grocery products from being purchased using SNAP benefits[/caption]
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP – formerly known as food stamps – offers monthly payments to cash-strapped families to supplement their grocery budget.
The goal of the federal program, launched in 1964, is to help Americans in need afford healthy foods essential to their well-being.
In reality, however, this is not always the case, with roughly 20 cents of each SNAP dollar being spent on salty snacks, candy, sweetened beverages, and other unhealthy products, per a USDA study.
Lawmakers are becoming increasingly concerned about the health of our country’s citizens, encouraged by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.
Many states, including Ohio, are taking strides to promote healthier eating habits by banning certain purchases using SNAP benefits.
Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine, for example, recently created the “Working Group on the Submission of a SNAP Waiver” to study the issue and potentially prohibit low-income families from buying certain sweetened beverages with food stamps.
The working group is tasked with “making recommendations regarding a federal waiver that would allow Ohio to prevent SNAP benefits from being used to purchase certain beverages shown to have minimal nutritional value and which contribute to conditions such as obesity, type 2 Diabetes and hypertension,” per a press release.
SNAP became a permanent, nationwide fixture in 1974, meaning that Ohio has been administering food stamps for at least 51 years.
The current legislative efforts within the state are the most significant and concrete attempt within Ohio to regulate purchases using food stamps.
A HEALTHY EFFORT
Ohio’s working group is the result of Executive Order 2025-03D, which Governor DeWine partially vetoed when he signed Ohio’s new state budget in late June.
Lawmakers sent the governor their plan to ban sugary beverages in their two-year budget bill, but he vetoed the provision due to his concerns regarding some of the language on particular ingredient references.
Rather than a complete ban on sugary beverages, certain ones will be excluded from the executive order, depending on recommendations from the working group.
“I support not using SNAP to purchase these beverages,” the governor said earlier this month.
“However, the budget language would have brought an extra layer of complexity that could serve to delay the approval and implementation of the sugar-sweetened beverage waiver that we are in the process of trying to get.”
What are SNAP benefits?
Over 41 million people in America receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits each month.
SNAP provides food benefits to low-income households to help people get groceries.
Recipients get money on a debit card that can be used at grocery stores and farmers markets.
The amount of money distributed depends on several factors including how much money you make, how much money you receive from other benefits, and how many people are in your household.
The electronic benefits can help people buy food including food and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, breads, cereals, and snacks.
You can’t use SNAP to buy alcohol, cigarettes, hot foods, or cooking utensils.
Source: USDA
The working group that DeWine launched, comprised of health officials, state leaders, and members of the grocery, food and beverage industry, will help craft the language in Ohio’s waiver.
The US Department of Agriculture must approve the waiver before the ban takes effect.
The working group has four meetings scheduled with the first taking place on Thursday.
The group must submit a written report of recommendations to DeWine by September 28, with the waiver request due to the USDA by October 28.
In addition to the working group’s budget provision regarding sweetened beverages, another Ohio bill introduced in April aims to restrict SNAP spending on items like candy, chips, ice cream, and prepared desserts.
The Trump Administration is encouraging states to apply for waivers to prevent food stamps from being used on non-nutritional items.
“This is not a Democrat or Republican thing. It’s not a blue state or red state thing. This is making America healthy again by working across party lines,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Six states have already had their waivers approved by the federal government, banning various junk foods and beverages like soda, candy, and energy drinks, while at least six others have submitted theirs.
One key state with its waiver approved will officially block shoppers from buying “unhealthy” sodas and energy drinks next year under the landmark change.
Meanwhile, SNAP recipients are being warned as $600,000 in benefits was yanked from recipients – “razor-thin” devices claimed months of food stamps.
Six US states have already had their SNAP waivers approved by the government, banning “junk” foods like candy, soda, and energy drinks[/caption]
