Governor Greg Abbott has taken a step to alter the purchasing options available through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In a letter addressed to Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Abbott requested a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service. The proposed waiver aims to restrict the purchase of unhealthy foods using SNAP benefits.
“SNAP was created to increase access to nutritious food; however, many SNAP purchases are for food with little to no nutritious value,” Abbott stated in his letter. He further noted that “under the Trump administration, for the first time since the program was authorized, states can take steps to eliminate the opportunity to buy junk food with SNAP benefits and assure that taxpayer dollars are used only to purchase healthy, nutritious food.”
Abbott expressed optimism about the potential outcomes of this initiative. “I look forward to the opportunities this approach will bring to improve the health and quality of life for low-income Texans,” he added.
The governor’s proposal is positioned as an effort to ensure that public funds allocated for nutrition assistance are spent on items that align with SNAP’s original intent: providing access to nutritious food.
