The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has been scrutinized recently, with many questioning the nutritional value of food purchased with the program. Critics have particularly highlighted SNAP being used to buy sugary junk food and unhealthy items that can contribute to harmful health issues later in life. To overcome these challenges, Sen. Rand Paul proposed legislation on Tuesday aimed at reforming SNAP to ensure the country’s citizens who use it are doing so for healthy food options, the Nutritious SNAP Act.
Paul’s office issued a release on Tuesday asserting that SNAP has been a contributing factor “in a new public health crisis — obesity and chronic disease — by subsidizing the purchase of junk food with taxpayer dollars.”
“SNAP was designed to fight hunger and improve nutrition—not to subsidize soda and junk food,” said Paul. “It makes no sense that taxpayer dollars are being used to fund an epidemic of obesity and diet-related illness in low-income communities. My bill ensures that this assistance program actually supports health and wellness, not chronic disease.”
Currently, more than 42 million people in the country are registered for SNAP benefits, according to the release. Nearly 25% of the funds in the subsidized programs are used on unhealthy food purchases such as cakes, chips, desserts, and sodas. An unmoderated and regular consumption of these products is connected to “worse diets and higher obesity rates among SNAP recipients than the general population.” The United States Department of Agriculture dismissed previous legislative efforts to reform SNAP in various states.
However, Paul’s bill champions a “common-sense step toward improving public health.” The Nutritious SNAP Act will protect taxpayer dollars from being wasted on unhealthy food purchases while “respecting the decisions made by states to combat chronic disease.”
“With nearly a quarter of SNAP benefits currently spent on sugar-laden, nutrient-poor products, the bill seeks to realign the program with its original mission: to improve the nutrition of low-income households,” read the release.
Paul’s Nutritious SNAP Act would restrict funds from purchasing unhealthy dietary items such as brownie mixes, cakes, desserts, potato chips, snack foods, and sodas. All beverage purchases would be limited to cow’s milk, healthy dairy alternatives, drinks that contain 100% fruit or vegetable juices, and water, according to Paul’s release.
The Nutritious SNAP Act maintains a healthy and efficient use of government-funded food programs while ensuring that families receive nutritious food, which helps prevent detrimental health problems. Most importantly, it “empowers states to restrict additional foods they deem unhealthy, restoring local control and removing federal barriers to innovation in public health policy.”