Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has called for an end to junk food in the federal food stamp program. In a letter to incoming Trump administration officials, she urged reform to promote healthier options for low-income families.
"As you know, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a $113 billion federal program designed to support low-income families with food assistance," Sanders wrote. "Unfortunately, this ‘Nutrition Assistance’ program is undermining the health of millions of Americans, on the taxpayers’ dime, by encouraging families to eat highly processed, unhealthy junk food."
She highlighted that nearly 23% of SNAP purchases—about $25 billion—go toward soda, snacks, candy, and desserts. Sanders emphasized the link between junk food and chronic health conditions like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Her concerns are personal. As a mother of three, Sanders said her experience motivates her to improve health outcomes. She also pointed out alarming statistics: one-third of Arkansans face diabetes or pre-diabetes, and 40% struggle with obesity.
"Sadly, these health conditions disproportionately affect lower-income families—the same people who rely on SNAP for food," she added.
Sanders referenced research by Stanford Professor Jayanta Bhattacharya, nominated to lead the National Institutes of Health. The study found that removing sugary snacks from SNAP could prevent obesity in 141,000 children and Type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults.
She also noted the benefits for farmers. "Health-centered SNAP reform offers a great opportunity for Americans to support Arkansas farmers by enjoying Arkansas-grown and harvested poultry, eggs, beef, pecans, peanuts, soy, strawberries, sweet potatoes, rice, peaches, oats, and more," she wrote.
Sanders urged the administration to prohibit junk food in SNAP and said she would seek a waiver to promote fresh, nutritious foods. "The time has come to support American farmers and end taxpayer-funded junk food," she declared.
The letter closes with a call to action. "Together, we can, and we will, Make America Healthy Again," she wrote. Sanders' stance may find support from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has criticized the food industry's impact on public health. "We have a generation of kids who are swimming around in a toxic soup," Kennedy previously said, calling for change.