Starting in January, SNAP recipients will no longer be able to use their food stamp benefits to purchase soda, energy drinks, and candy. Governor Jeff Landry asked the federal government to prohibit these foods from being purchased with SNAP benefits because they contribute to poor health outcomes.
“It’s not something that taxpayers should be paying for at the same time as you said. We’ve got so many problems with chronic diseases,” Landry said.
Landry talked about the upcoming changes to the SNAP program on his “Diner Days” podcast he recorded at a restaurant in Broussard.
The governor was joined by Louisiana Health Secretary Bruce Greenstein, who says the state’s SNAP program costs the federal government $1.9 billion, and SNAP recipients use their benefits to purchase about $350 million in soda every year.
“We’re basically freeing up money for families to go ahead and buy better food. Whether it’s going to be, you know, rice and beans, whether it’s going to be meats, vegetables, dairy products,” Greenstein explained.
SNAP recipients can still purchase soda and candy, but they’ll have to use their own money.
Greenstein says the waiver also allows the 800,000 SNAP recipients in the state to use their benefits to buy a hot rotisserie chicken, which they are currently not allowed to do.
“So, allowing rotisserie chicken or prepared food allows a parent on the way home from work to pick up foods that the kids can eat right there instead of snack foods or sugar foods and pop,” Greenstein said.