{"id":3093,"date":"2026-06-30T06:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3093"},"modified":"2026-06-30T06:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:37:06","slug":"end-the-taxpayer-backed-junk-food-slush-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3093","title":{"rendered":"End the taxpayer-backed junk food slush fund"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OPINION:<\/strong><\/p>\n

What began as a well-intentioned program to distribute farm surpluses to the genuinely needy during the Great Depression has morphed into a taxpayer-funded junk-food slush fund.<\/p>\n

Read more New York has forgotten \u2018Never Forget\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

That must end.<\/p>\n

On June 22, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, appointed by President Obama, ruled that the Department of Agriculture lacks the authority to allow states to undertake pilot programs barring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients from using their food stamps to buy unhealthy items such as soda, energy drinks and candy.<\/p>\n

The five states \u2014 Tennessee, West Virginia, Colorado, Iowa and Nebraska \u2014 are among 23 that have requested and received USDA permission to implement SNAP restriction waivers.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s reasoning for scrapping the pilots: In allowing them, the government was failing to abide by its own definition of \u201cfood.\u201d According to the U.S. Code, \u201cfood\u201d is defined as \u201carticles used for food or drink for man or other animals, (2) chewing gum, and (3) articles used for components of any such article.\u201d<\/p>\n

This obviously circular definition clarifies nothing. It is a logical fallacy, and it should not be used to justify states\u2019 attempts to right a long-standing wrong: allowing federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize people\u2019s lousy habits.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, \u201cfood\u201d is widely defined as nutritious substances consumed by animals and plants to maintain growth and life. No medical professional will say that processed sugar does either of these things.<\/p>\n

After Judge Jackson\u2019s ruling, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote on X: \u201cAn activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.\u201d She added that \u201cthis administration will keep fighting to Make America Healthy Again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keeping taxpayer cash from funding consumables that offer no nutritional benefit is indeed common sense and rightly forms a core part of the administration\u2019s MAHA agenda.<\/p>\n

In February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that obesity rates among children and teenagers \u2014 the biggest consumers of sugar-sweetened drinks \u2014 had reached record highs.<\/p>\n

Read more Commander in retreat: Putin\u2019s Ukraine failures shatter the inevitable Russian victory myth<\/a><\/p>\n

Adolescents are more likely to consume sugar-sweetened drinks when they can get them at home, according to a 2018 paper published in the Journal of Pediatrics.<\/p>\n

Because 62% of SNAP participants are in families with children, if we stop giving them this junk for free, their youngsters will be less likely to consume it.<\/p>\n

Some will argue that these pilot programs impinge on personal freedoms and constitute nanny state controls, but they do not. Those who wish to use their own hard-earned money on junk food are still free to do so.<\/p>\n

What they are not free to do under the programs is buy the stuff using the political left\u2019s favorite kind of money: other people\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Critics of the pilots also say they would effectively starve children. This is nonsense not only because sugary soft drinks and desserts provide no nutritional value, but also because the programs do not prevent recipients from purchasing foods that do.<\/p>\n

If a program participant chooses, as a peculiar form of self-harming protest, not to buy any groceries at all in the event they cannot buy candy and soda, then they \u2014 not the state government or USDA \u2014 are the ones starving their offspring. That is a matter for Child Protective Services.<\/p>\n

SNAP recipients make less healthy food choices overall. They \u201cspend about 27% less on fruits and vegetables than non-SNAP households,\u201d according to the Foundation for Economic Education. \u201cThis difference cannot be attributed to a lack of access because around 85% of SNAP purchases are made at large chain grocery stores with vast produce selections.\u201d<\/p>\n

When an item stops being free, it often loses much of its appeal. Waiver programs that require SNAP recipients to pay for their own candy and energy drinks are likely to encourage them to choose healthier food options.<\/p>\n

Read more Far-left candidates expose Democratic Party\u2019s radical turn<\/a><\/p>\n

Judge Jackson\u2019s ruling is absurd, and we hope the administration appeals it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What began as a well-intentioned program to distribute farm surpluses to the genuinely needy during the Great Depression has morphed into a taxpayer-funded junk-food slush fund.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3092,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,30],"tags":[1964,1002,1963],"class_list":["post-3093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","category-opinion","tag-amy-berman-jackson","tag-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program","tag-u-s-department-of-agriculture"],"yoast_head":"\nEnd the taxpayer-backed junk food slush fund - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3093\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"End the taxpayer-backed junk food slush fund - 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