Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary (shown above), and Brooke Rollins, the new Agriculture Secretary, have both signaled that they favor stripping sugary drinks and treats from SNAP. Arguments in favor of such a move include the cost and whether a diet consisting of processed food items is healthy.
"When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?" Rollins said earlier this month. "These are all massive questions we're going to be asking and working on in the coming months and years."
Kennedy was more direct in a recent appearance on Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle" last week.
"We shouldn't be subsidizing people to eat poison," said Kennedy.
Spending should be considered
Still, David Williams of Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) says junk food is cheaper than organic items.
"This is about saving money," Williams tells AFN. "We want the biggest bang for the buck when we look at these benefits, and by limiting what food people can buy, you're really going to raise the prices, and you're not going to get the biggest bang for your buck."
Williams thinks Congress needs to take a long hard look at SNAP including eligibility.
"Looking at just what people can buy with their food stamps and with SNAP really doesn't get to the core of the problems," adds Wiliams. "The core of the problem really is the spending. You have so much spending in this program, and whether it is going to the right people needs to be the focus."
