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American Starting Thursday, in five states that receive government help paying for groceries, new restrictions will be imposed on soda, candy and other food items that can be purchased through those benefits.
Indiana, Iowa, nebraska, Utah and west virginia Be the first of at least 18 states to enact a waiver prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or break.
It’s part of a push by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to push states to eliminate foods deemed unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program long known as food stamps that serves 42 million Americans.
“We cannot continue with a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay again to treat the illnesses those programs cause,” Kennedy said in a statement in December.
The efforts are aimed at reducing obesity and chronic diseases like diabetes associated with sweetened drinks and other snacks, a key goal of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” effort.
But retail industry and health policy experts say states’ SNAP programs, already under pressure from deep budget cuts, are unprepared for the complex changes, don’t have a complete list of affected foods, and point-of-sale technology challenges vary by state and store. Research remains mixed on whether limiting SNAP purchases improves diet quality and health.
The National Retail Federation, an industry association, expects longer checkout lines and more customer complaints as SNAP recipients learn which foods are affected by the new exemptions.
“People trying to buy food and being turned away is a disaster waiting to happen,” said Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the agency. University of Michigan.
A report by the National Grocers Association and other industry trade groups estimated that implementing SNAP restrictions would cost U.S. retailers $1.6 billion initially and $759 million annually going forward.
“Penalizing SNAP recipients means we all have to pay more at the grocery store,” said Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP director at the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger advocacy group.
The exemptions depart from decades of federal policy, first enacted in 1964 and later authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which states that SNAP benefits can be used for “any food or food intended for human consumption,” except for alcohol and ready-to-eat hot meals. The law also says SNAP cannot pay for tobacco.
In the past, lawmakers have proposed blocking SNAP from paying for expensive meats like steak or so-called junk food like chips and ice cream.
But the previous exemption request was denied because U.S. Department of Agriculture The study concluded that the restrictions would be costly and complex to implement and might not change recipients’ purchasing habits or reduce health problems such as obesity.
The second time trump card However, governments have encouraged and even incentivized countries to seek exemptions, and they have responded.
“This is not the usual top-down, one-size-fits-all public health agenda,” Indiana’s governor said. Mike Braun he said last spring when he announced the state’s request. “We focus on root causes, transparent information and real outcomes.”
Five state exemptions that took effect Jan. 1 affect about 1.4 million people. Utah and West Virginia will ban the use of SNAP to purchase soda and soft drinks, while Nebraska will ban the use of SNAP to purchase soda and energy drinks. Indiana will target soft drinks and candy. In Iowa, by far the most restrictive state, SNAP restrictions affect taxable foods, including soda and candy, but also certain prepared foods.
“The item list does not provide enough specific information to help SNAP participants prepare for a trip to the grocery store,” Plata-Nino wrote in a blog post. “Many other items — including certain prepared foods — will also be prohibited, although this was not explicitly stated in the household notice.”
Mark Craig, 47, Des Moinessaid he had been living in his car since October. He said the new exemption will make it harder for him to determine how to spend the $298 in SNAP benefits he receives each month, while also adding to the stigma he feels at the checkout line.
“They treat people on food stamps like we’re not human beings,” Craig said.
SNAP exemptions enacted now and in the coming months will last two years, with the option to extend for an additional three years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Each state will need to assess the impact of the changes.
Anand Parekh, chief policy officer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said health experts worry the exemption ignores larger factors affecting the health of SNAP recipients.
“This does not address two fundamental problems, which is that healthy food is unaffordable in this country and unhealthy food is cheap and ubiquitous,” he said.