MAHA Making Progress as States Ban Food Stamps for Junk Food

Twelve states, including deep blue Colorado, have made the common-sense decision to ban the use of food stamps for purchasing junk food, sugary drinks, and candy. This increasingly popular idea may be set to gain even more traction out of political necessity in the months ahead as recent changes to welfare programs will require states to shoulder more of the cost.

Proposals requiring that food stamps only be used on healthy food items are not new, but the idea first began gaining real momentum following the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year. During his confirmation process, Kennedy promised to end the massive taxpayer subsidies to junk food companies that taxpayers provide through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps.

As AMAC Newsline has previously reported, junk food accounts for a shockingly high proportion of SNAP purchases. Nearly 10 percent of SNAP funds are spent on “sweetened beverages,” including soda – amounting to more than $10 billion annually. Prepared desserts and salty snacks like potato chips are also among the top 10 food items purchased with food stamps.

Unsurprisingly, the 42 million Americans on food stamps have on average worse health outcomes than Americans not on food stamps. According to NIH data, about 42 percent of adults on food stamps are obese, compared to 32 percent of adults not eligible for food stamps. Another 2023 study found that SNAP recipients are significantly more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

This puts an added strain elsewhere on taxpayers, since many SNAP users are also on government-funded health insurance plans like Medicaid. These plans then need to spend more money treating patients with chronic diseases linked to poor nutrition. “U.S. taxpayers should not be paying to feed the poorest kids in the country food that will give them diabetes,” Kennedy said in early August.

Federal law does not permit the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, to unilaterally ban certain items from eligibility under the program. But to address this glaring health crisis, Kennedy and other Trump administration officials have urged states to take action – and many are listening.

At least 12 states have so far submitted waiver requests to the USDA to ban junk food purchases with SNAP benefits. In early August, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins authorized six requests, on top of six others that had already been approved, according to The Daily Wire.

The current states that have banned food stamps for junk food are Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah. Although the specific policies in each state vary, in general they will all be restricting access to junk food, such as pop and candy, beginning next year.

Colorado is one of the newest states and the only Democrat one among the bunch. “Today’s waiver is a big step towards improving the health of Coloradans and reducing obesity rates, diabetes, and tooth decay,” Gov. Polis stated, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Polis also pointed out that the change will incentivize grocery stores to stock healthier food, particularly in low-income areas that often face a lack of access to fresh, health-conscious options. “Because many local grocers make stocking decisions in part based on SNAP eligibility, I’m confident that this waiver will also help reduce food deserts in Colorado by reducing shelf space for soda and increasing it for other nutritional food products eligible for SNAP,” Polis said.

Changes under the “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which President Donald Trump signed into law in July, may further incentivize other states to make changes to their SNAP programs. The law requires states to pay more for food stamps based on their “administrative error rate.” In other words, states that doled out money and frequently made mistakes will now be required to pay for their negligence out of their own pockets.

Alaska, with an overpayment rate of nearly 25 percent, is by far the worst offender, according to USDA data. But blue states like New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York also had overpayment rates above 10 percent in fiscal year 2024. Now that these states will be forced to administer their programs fairly and accurately, they may well decide to cut eligibility for junk food purchases.

Beyond banning junk food purchases, there are other changes to the SNAP program that are now under discussion. One major proposal is allowing food stamps to be used for prepared hot meals or at farmer’s markets. This is a bipartisan point of agreement, as both Governor Polis and Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders have questioned why food like fresh rotisserie chickens cannot be bought with food stamps.

Congress could also change the law governing the food stamp program – although that would require clearing a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Nonetheless, proposals like Senator Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) “Healthy SNAP Act of 2025” would allow USDA to implement positive state-level developments nationwide.

While there are still plenty of challenges ahead, the Make America Healthy Again agenda appears to be well underway. For the first time in decades, there is real momentum toward creating healthier outcomes for the American people.

Matt Lamb is a contributor for AMAC Newsline and an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.