USDA approves Indiana’s waiver to remove sugary drinks from SNAP benefits

Submitted by Office of Governor Mike Braun

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has signed Indiana’s waiver to remove sugary soft drinks and candy from the taxpayer-funded nutrition assistance program, SNAP.

“More taxpayer-funded SNAP dollars are spent on sugary drinks and candy than on fruits and vegetables,” Gov. Mike Braun said. “Indiana is proud to lead the way in the Make America Healthy Again agenda by making this common sense move to return the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to its intended purpose: nutrition.”

Soda is the number one commodity purchased with SNAP benefits. Purchases of sugary drinks, desserts, and candy exceed the combined sales of fruits and vegetables on SNAP. Children enrolled in SNAP consume 43 percent more sugary drinks than non-SNAP recipients with similar incomes.

Indiana was among the first states in the country to apply for this waiver to remove soft drinks and candy from SNAP benefits.

At the event rolling out Governor Braun’s Make Indiana Healthy Again initiative, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said:

“I urge every governor across America to follow your lead by signing similar executive orders in their states to improve nutrition standards in SNAP, increase transparency around food dyes and additives, implement physical fitness tests in schools, expand farm-to-school programs, and embrace the full scope of your transformative health agenda. Together, we can Make America Healthy Again.”