The conservative backlash against the use of food stamps to buy soda and junk food keeps on growing, with a reported six more states moving to create new restrictions on eligible purchases on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including Texas, Nebraska, and West Virginia.
For context, on May 22, 2025, US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told the press that half a dozen states had proposed legislation that would ban the purchase of soda, candy, and other “junk foods” as part of a growing push for SNAP reform. In addition, Secretary Rollins told the press that she believed the SNAP budget, which reportedly totals over $65 billion per year, is being misused.
According to press accounts, Secretary Rollins told the crowd at a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) event that the Trump Administration is “on track to sign multiples of SNAP waivers to get junk food and sugary drinks out of our food stamp system.” Furthermore, Secretary Rollins explained, “That has never happened before under Republican or Democrat administrations.”
Moreover, according to coverage from Newsweek, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders made it clear that she is aiming to limit SNAP-eligible foods in her state, saying, she “intends to pursue a SNAP Waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service that would support fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and protein and prohibit using SNAP for junk food.”
In addition, Newsweek reported that a similar bill is in the works in Montana, with Sen. Daniel Zolnikov (R), the bill’s sponsor, defending the legislation from criticism by saying, “People said this bill is against low-income individuals…I am not against low-income folks having a soda or a treat.” The senator clarified, “I am against the endless marketing to parents and our children that processed food and drinks is (sic) the equivalent to that of produce, fruits, and meat.”
Similarly, Utah’s Sen. Mike Lee (R) made a case for a SNAP reform bill for his state, saying, “American tax dollars should not be used to pay for junk food and endanger the health of the most vulnerable Americans.” The senator added, “The fastest way to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ is to encourage balanced diets and stop subsidizing unhealthy food choices.”
In addition to the calls for state legislation restricting SNAP-eligible foods, USDA Secretary Rollins drew attention to potential misuse of the SNAP budget, telling the press that the budget is filled with “fraud and abuse and corruption.” Speaking during a policy panel hosted by Breitbart on May 20, 2025, Secretary Rollins elaborated, saying, “$400 million of our taxpayer money is spent every day across our nutrition programs, just at USDA.”
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In addition, Secretary Rollins explained that the USDA is “working to change” the misuse of funds at SNAP, along with “across the whole government as well.” She added, “There’s just a lot of work that we need to do. That fact—that we’re just handing out all of this money without any sort of requirement of work for able-bodied, grown adults—is sort of insane to me.”
Featured image credit: Secretary Brooke Rollins via X