Arkansas submitted a waiver to the federal government Tuesday to ban candy and soda from being purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits in the Natural State.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the restrictions will encourage low-income Arkansans to make healthier choices at the grocery store. The waiver also asks that rotisserie chicken be added to the list of foods eligible for purchase using SNAP benefits, also commonly known as food stamps.
“Right now you can use food stamps to buy a soft drink or a candy bar from a gas station, but you can’t use them to buy an Arkansas-raised hot rotisserie chicken from a grocery store,” Sanders said during the announcement outside the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock. “That’s the definition of crazy.”
Sanders said the U.S. spends $119 billion annually on SNAP, 23% of which is used to purchase soda, candy, and desserts. Meanwhile, she said Arkansas’ Medicaid program spends $300 million treating chronic illnesses each year.
The announcement comes just weeks after the USDA canceled grants supporting local farm to school and nutritional programs.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins joined the governor to praise the effort, saying she encourages all states to consider different ways to quote “make all Americans healthy again.”
“We at USDA are committed to funding health not illness, to satisfying hunger with nutritious food produced and harvested by our incredible farmers and ranchers in this area, but not unhealthy food products that fuel chronic disease.”
The state Department of Human Services oversees both the SNAP and Medicaid programs. Arkansas DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam said that allowing SNAP recipients to use the benefits to purchase unhealthy foods “makes no sense.”
“Why do we contribute to poor health in one program, then try to fix it in another program? There’s a better approach, and it’s why we’re here today,” Putnam said.
The announcement has been met with criticism from members of the beverage and candy industry; a statement from the National Confectioners Association called the policy “misguided” and cited a 2016 USDA report showing similar spending habits between SNAP and non-SNAP beneficiaries.
Sanders said Arkansas would use the GS1 categorization model, which groups products based on similar qualities, to make it easier for retailers to implement the changes.
