The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Gov. Greg Gianforte’s request to prohibit people from purchasing soft drinks, junk food or candy with the federal food assistance benefits.
By Nora Mabie MONTANA FREE PRESS
Gov. Greg Gianforte announced on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had approved his request to prohibit people from purchasing soft drinks, junk food and candy with SNAP, the food assistance program funded by the federal government.
The state’s March waiver requesting the restrictions, circulated by Gianforte’s office Tuesday and signed by Department of Public Health and Human Services director Charlie Brereton, outlines the state’s goal to assess the impact of limiting “nutrient-poor food items on SNAP households in Montana, where diet-related chronic conditions are a growing concern.”
The waiver explains that Montana food retailers will be tasked with implementing the restrictions for SNAP waivers at the point of sale. Here’s how the state is defining which foods will be excluded from SNAP purchases beginning this fall:
- Candy: A shelf-stable product including sugar, honey or other sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruit, nuts or flavorings in the form of bars, drops or pieces.
- High-sugar beverages: Non-alcoholic drinks sweetened with more than 10 grams of sugar per eight fluid ounces.
- Energy drinks: Beverages that contain more than six milligrams of caffeine per fluid ounce, or more than 140 milligrams total caffeine per container. The definition also includes drinks that have certain ingredients, like stimulants.
- Prepared desserts: Processed, shelf-stable, pre-packaged sweet food intended for immediate consumption without preparation.
After Gianforte submitted the waiver to the USDA, researchers told Montana Free Press that many of the costs of implementing SNAP waivers would fall on individual grocery stores, that definitions for prohibited foods were vague and confusing, and that restrictions don’t help improve health outcomes for low-income people.
“I can see this is going to cause issues before it benefits anybody,” Iris Sharp, co-director of Food Access and Sustainability Team (FAST) Blackfeet, a nonprofit that works to expand food security, told MTFP at the time.
The state will, according to its plan outlined in the waiver, communicate changes to retailers and SNAP participants this summer with the goal of implementing the changes by Sept. 30.
