USDA signs Indiana SNAP waiver, removing soft drinks, candy from state program

INDIANAPOLIS -- A waiver has been signed at the federal level to remove soft drinks and candy from being eligible as part of Indiana's SNAP program.




According to a news release from the office of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, recently signed the state's request to remove the two items from the state's SNAP program.




SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a federal aid program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture that distributes food assistance to low and no-income people and families at the state level.

According to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration's (FSSA) website, the FSSA "is responsible for ensuring federal regulations" for the SNAP program are implemented and consistent throughout the state.




This comes after Braun was joined by Robert F. Kennedy, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump, and Mehmet Oz, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to unveil nine "Make Indiana Healthy Again" executive orders earlier this month.




One of those orders, many of which were centered around SNAP, stated that the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration would apply for a waiver to exclude candy and soft drinks from the list of SNAP-eligible products, according to previous reports.








At the time, the state's secretary of Health and Family Services said that the administration would also recommend additional items be removed from the SNAP-eligible list, including items "understood to have low nutritional value and a positive correlation with weight gain and obesity..."




The release claims that soda is the number one commodity purchased with SNAP benefits, stating that purchases of sugary drinks, desserts and candy "exceed the combined sales of fruits and vegetables on SNAP."




In a post on social media, Braun said he is honored to join the White House's efforts in the effort to "Make America Healthy Again."




"More taxpayer-funded SNAP dollars are spent on sugary drinks and candy than on fruits and vegetables," Braun said in a statement provided to FOX59/CBS4. "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."




The release said that Indiana was one of the first states to apply for this specific SNAP waiver.





via: https://fox59.com/indianapolitics/usda-signs-indiana-snap-waiver-removing-soft-drinks-candy-from-state-program/