WVLT

3/10/25

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The Tennessee House passed a bill that would place limits on buying junk food using SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Monday.

It’s not the first time the U.S. program that helps low-income families pay for food has faced threats limiting what qualifies for purchases. Other attempts to cut candy and snacks from SNAP have failed in the past.

“None of those requests have ever been approved under either Republican or Democratic presidents,” Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told the Associated Press last month.

The Tennessee Healthy SNAP Act would require the Tennessee Department of Human Services to request a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowing the state to end benefits for candy and soft drinks, like soda.

“The purpose of SNAP is to provide food security and nutrition to low-income Americans,” Zachary said. “There is no nutritional value to candy or soft drinks, and these goods should not be purchased with public funds in Tennessee. The Tennessee Health SNAP Act will help further the nationwide campaign to make America healthy again while ensuring this important benefit is used wisely in our state by residents who rely on it.”

It comes as SNAP faces scrutiny in Washington as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., newly confirmed as the country’s health and human services secretary, pushes for stripping treats away from the program.

Opponents, however, say the task is easier said than done. Historically, trying to nail down what qualifies as junk food has been a tricky thing, with overlapping and sometimes contradictory guidance.

An amendment in the bill helps clarify Tennessee legislators’ plan, however. A March 3 update aligned the bill’s definition of candy with the USDA, and defined soft drinks as, essentially, any carbonated water beverage sweetened with sugar or sweeteners.

Other opponents say limiting what people can buy with SNAP is an attack on the autonomy of low-income Americans.

A USDA report put ranked “sweetened beverages” and “prepared desserts” as the second- and fifth-most purchased types of items by SNAP recipients, who receive, on average, $187 per month — or about $6 per day — from the program. That being said, those same foods ranked at number five and number six for non-SNAP households.