If HHS Secretary and wholesome meals advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has his approach, SNAP will stand for Soda Not Allowed Interval.
On Friday, Kennedy introduced his “Make America Wholesome Once more” marketing campaign to West Virginia, the place Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey introduced that he will probably be searching for permission from the Division of Agriculture to place soda on the listing of things that can not be purchased by the Supplemental Vitamin Help Program, typically referred to by its former title of meals stamps, in response to The Washington Post.
“Taxpayer {dollars} ought to be focused towards nutritious meals,” Morrisey mentioned.
Kennedy issued a full-throated request for states to repeat Morrisey’s lead.
“I urge each Governor to comply with West Virginia’s lead and submit a waiver to the USDA to take away soda from SNAP,” Kennedy mentioned in a press release, in response to Newsweek.
“If there’s one factor we are able to agree on, it ought to be eliminating taxpayer-funded soda subsidies for decrease earnings children. I sit up for inviting each Governor who submits a waiver to return have a good time with me on the White Home this fall,” he mentioned.
Waging a SNAP warfare on soda is opposed by Valerie Imbruce, director of the Heart for Surroundings and Society at Washington Faculty.
“Controlling how the poor eat is a paternalistic response to an issue that isn’t primarily based in SNAP recipients’ incapacity to make good choices about wholesome meals, it’s a drawback of the value differential in selecting wholesome or junk meals,” she mentioned.
“Soda and sweet are less expensive and extra calorie dense than one hundred pc fruit juices or prebiotic non-artificially sweetened carbonated drinks, thanks to cost helps and subsidies by the federal authorities to help a U.S. sugar business,” she added.
The soda business was additionally miffed, the Publish famous.
RFK Jr. “I need to commend Governor Morrisey … for his braveness.”
“These legislators who’re pushing this invoice, all of them are getting calls every single day from the massive soda corporations … and the faux meals corporations.”
“We’re not consuming meals. We’re consuming food-like substances.” pic.twitter.com/ncl0v8I5DG
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) March 28, 2025
“What’s unhelpful about this complete dialog is that soda will not be driving weight problems,” Merideth Potter, senior vice chairman on the American Beverage Affiliation, the business’s lobbying group, reacted. “We’ve change into this simple punching bag.”
Seth DiStefano, of the leftist West Virginia Heart on Finances and Coverage, mentioned a ban on SNAP paying for soda might power buyers out of the state and result in retailer closures.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is the one who makes the decision on SNAP.
“I sit up for receiving Governor Morrisey’s SNAP pilot request and can work swiftly to make sure West Virginia is provided with the technical help and experience to maneuver ahead,” Rollins mentioned in a press release.
Calley Means, a senior adviser on the White Home, mentioned 15 governors are speaking with Kennedy about eradicating soda from the listing of merchandise SNAP funds can purchase.
“We’re not saying anybody can’t drink Coke,” Means mentioned. “We’re saying no authorities subsidies for Coke.”
This text appeared initially on The Western Journal.
