Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday announced a plan to overhaul the role of states in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The Trump administration will allow states to cease covering unhealthy foods and beverages, including soft drinks, to help people make healthier choices at the grocery store. Removing soda from the list of foods eligible to buy on food stamps is a pillar of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
“President Trump said that he wants to make America healthy again,” Kennedy said. “He wants to make it strong again. We cannot have a strong country if we have sick citizens.”
“A person who is healthy has 1,000 dreams, a person who is sick has only one, and there is 60% of our country now that has only one dream, which is to get better, and we need to give them a pathway to doing that,” Kennedy added. “And the pathway is food.”
Kennedy made the announcement in West Virginia alongside Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R-WV), while speaking to a group of teachers, children, and parents at a local school. The state recently became the first in the country to ban the use of artificial food dye. At least 20 states are considering similar restrictions.
“Is the SNAP program doing what it was supposed to do?” Morrisey said. “That ‘N’ is for nutrition. It’s not for nonsense. If the law says the program is meant to help people get a more nutritious diet, then that should be the standard.”
