SNAP & Soda
There are many reasons to criticize the Trump administration’s dismantling of social safety net programs, which has stripped essential health care and food assistance from millions of Americans. But one policy change deserves credit: The administration has finally allowed states to restrict people from using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase soda.
New research shows that these restrictions are achieving their intended effect. They have reduced purchases of unhealthy sugary beverages, which could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in health care costs.
Proponents of the SNAP restrictions have argued for decades that a program with the word “nutrition” in its name should not subsidize purchases of sugary beverages that have no nutritional value and contribute to obesity, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Agriculture Department data from 2011 found that about 20 percent of SNAP benefits went to junk foods such as candy, chips and sugary drinks.
Such consumption drives poor health outcomes among SNAP recipients, who face disproportionately high rates of diet-related chronic diseases. Meanwhile, taxpayers effectively pay for it twice, first by subsidizing the purchases of unhealthy foods and then by covering the costs of treating diseases.
