There is a move afoot to shake things up within the federal food stamp program. One idea proposes banning the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase junk food.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has written to the incoming Trump Administration's Health and Agriculture departments, asking that they address the nation's obesity epidemic by considering changes to the SNAP benefits program.

The Little Rock-based CBS affiliate THV11 reports Sanders says the SNAP program is "encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food" at the expense of taxpayers.

She specifically points to soda, snacks, candy, and dessert, which Sanders says account for 23 percent, or $25 billion, of all SNAP purchases.

Citing Stanford research, Sanders writes, "Prohibiting sugary drinks and soda from SNAP would prevent obesity in 141,000 kids and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults."

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Though federally funded, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts administers the SNAP program. More than one million Massachusetts residents receive SNAP benefits. More than 33 percent are in working families.

Third Bristol and Plymouth District State Senator-Elect Kelly Dooner, who recently accused the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance of handing out EBT cards like "candy," plans to file legislation to reform the SNAP program in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts SNAP Recipients Could See Ban On Junk Food Buys
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Responding to Gov. Sanders's call for SNAP changes, Dooner says, "No one should go hungry or have to worry about where their next meal is from. That's why our state provides many resources, including EBT cards, to help those in need."

"Being taxpayer-funded, we need more oversight on how these EBT cards are being used," she said.

In her letter, Sanders stated, "Given the relationship between junk food and poor health, our federal food assistance policies are feeling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and a wide range of chronic health conditions around America."

Dooner says, "It is important that we encourage and make sure there is access to locally sourced healthy food choices."

I find it amazing still that SNAP recipients cannot purchase a hot rotisserie chicken with their EBT card yet soda and chips are allowed under the program.

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