First State Bans Soda Purchases With Food Stamps, Boosting MAHA Movement Win

Residents of Nebraska who rely on the federal nutrition assistance program, commonly referred to as food stamps, can no longer use their benefits to buy sodas or energy drinks. This change was implemented following approval of a waiver request submitted by the state to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The alteration represents "a pioneering move and a significant stride towards Making America Healthy Again," stated U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. said in a statement on Monday of the change to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a federal benefit program for low-income people administered by individual states.

"There’s not one single justification for using taxpayer money to fund the buying of sodas and energy drinks. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aims to assist struggling families in incorporating healthier foods into their meals, yet what we're excluding lacks any nutritional value," stated Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen in an official release after he sought the exemption back in April.

The modification will come into play on January 1, 2026, affecting approximately 150,000 individuals in Nebraska who receive SNAP benefits.

Six additional states — Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa, and West Virginia — have expressed interest in comparable exemptions, as reported by the Department of Agriculture.

Iowa’s request would similarly prohibit the buyings of treats such as Kettle Corn, fruit leather, and juice drinks With fewer than 50 percent juice content, whereas Arkansas’s exemption aims to include rotisserie chicken among the permitted items.

Critics contended that this alteration might have minimal impact on enhancing nutrition for Nebraska’s less fortunate population, meanwhile introducing additional expenses for shops. This could possibly restrict food choices in remote regions specifically for SNAP beneficiaries.

“The average SNAP benefit in Nebraska is $5.82 per person per day – or less than $2 per meal,” Eric Savaiano, of the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed, said in a statement. “If we were serious about making Nebraskans healthier, we would give participants the resources they need to buy healthier, less cheap foods and incentivize healthier choices – not police their buying habits and embarrass them in public.”

Even though the Trump administration emphasized public health through its pledge to Make America Healthy Again, Republican lawmakers in Congress are contemplating a reduction of $230 billion from SNAP within their proposed spending bill aimed at solidifying the president's key first-term tax reductions.

In total, the budgets being contemplated would eventually redistribute resources from the bottom 40 percent of American households to the richest 1 percent via $4.5 trillion in tax reductions primarily benefiting the rich, coupled with $1.5 trillion spending cuts , encompassing advantages for the general populace, including those with lower incomes, as per an analysis conducted by Yale University.

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