Gov. Greg Abbott has formally requested a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prohibit the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for the purchase of unhealthy foods, such as soda and candy.
The move, announced in a letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, marks a significant push to reshape the nutritional standards of SNAP purchases in Texas.
SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program, helping over 41 million Americans afford groceries each year. While the program’s stated goal is to increase access to nutritious food, critics argue that a substantial portion of SNAP benefits are currently spent on items with little or no nutritional value.
USDA data cited by Texas lawmakers indicates that about 20 percent of SNAP dollars go toward sugary drinks and snack foods, with sweetened beverages alone accounting for 9.3 percent of expenditures.
Abbott’s letter emphasizes that SNAP was created to promote nutrition and health, but instead “many SNAP purchases are for food with little to no nutritious value.” He wrote that the waiver would ensure “taxpayer dollars are used only to purchase healthy, nutritious food.”
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