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USDA approves Indiana’s waiver to remove sugary drinks from taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits

Friday, May 23, 2025 at 10:00 PM

Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Brooke Rollins signed Indiana’s waiver to remove sugary soft drinks and candy from the taxpayer-funded nutrition assistance program, SNAP. 

“More taxpayer-funded SNAP dollars are spent on sugary drinks and candy than on fruits and vegetables. Indiana is proud to lead the way in the Make America Healthy Again agenda by making this common-sense move to return the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to its intended purpose: nutrition, " Governor Mike Braun.

Soda is the number one commodity purchased with SNAP benefits. Purchases of sugary drinks, desserts, and candy exceed SNAP's combined sales of fruits and vegetables. Children enrolled in SNAP consume 43% more sugary beverages than non-SNAP recipients with similar incomes.

Indiana was among the first states in the country to apply for this waiver, which would remove soft drinks and candy from SNAP benefits. 

At the event rolling out Governor Braun’s Make Indiana Healthy Again initiative, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said: “I urge every governor across America to follow your lead by signing similar executive orders in their states to improve nutrition standards in SNAP, increase transparency around food dyes and additives, implement physical fitness tests in schools, expand farm-to-school programs, and embrace the full scope of your transformative health agenda. Together, we can Make America Healthy Again.”

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