‘Bad Food and Sugary Drinks’ Could Be Banned From Food Stamp Purchases Under Trump’s USDA

Let's see how this goes....

Newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a potential ban on “bad food and sugary drinks” for food stamp holders, also known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), affecting thousands of Black consumers.

Rollins says she is excited to work with fellow newly appointed cabinet member Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to switch food-stamp benefits to healthier food options.

“I look forward to working with Bobby Kennedy as we figure out, ‘Do we have the healthiest choices?’ So when a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are we OK with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious?” she said in a White House driveway interview.

She took the opportunity to criticize former President Joe Biden, alluding that funds for the program may have been disproportionately spent.

“Truly, this program has grown so large, especially in the last administration. Under Biden, I think [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] grew almost 30% more than before,” Rollins said.

“We really need to look at where that money is going, what it’s being spent on.”

Over 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits during 2023’s fiscal year. In that same year, data showed close to 27% of recipients were Black children and adults, according to the Pew Research Center. Several Black families, even with government assistance, face food insecurity, leaving them with limited resources for healthy food options. In cities like Philadelphia, more than 28% of Black families faced food insecurity in 2022. Sixty-seven percent of residents in the area live under the 200% threshold for SNAP benefits.

Limiting the number of food products that can be purchased through SNAP could increase food insecurities among the demographic of people who use them the most.

The legislature supports Rollins’ ideology on Capitol Hill. In January 2025, Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) introduced the Healthy SNAP Act, which would ban SNAP benefits from purchasing items like “soft drinks, candy, ice cream, prepared desserts such as cakes, pies, cookies, or similar products.”

Brecheen feels that if someone wants to buy junk food, it should be “on their own dime.“

“But what we’re saying is, don’t ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences,” the congressman said.

Healthy food has been a hot topic among lawmakers. During former President Barack Obama’s White House administration, first lady Michelle Obama formed the “Let’s Move” initiative to combat childhood obesity, which Republican lawmakers openly shut down. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker worked with Brecheen in 2024 on a bill that would authorize a study of SNAP purchases that would “add improving nutrition security and diet quality to Congress’ declaration of policy for SNAP.”