Food stamp recipients sue over bans on sugary drinks
WASHINGTON — Food stamp recipients sued the Agriculture Department on Wednesday over restrictions barring them from using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy, arguing that the limits are unlawful, create confusion and add to their difficulties in managing their health.
Since May, the department has approved waivers in 22 states that allow them to bar participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from using their benefits to buy soda, energy drinks, candy or other prepared desserts. Top officials have hailed the restrictions as an achievement of the Make America Healthy Again movement, even as they have caused confusion among recipients and retailers alike.
Brooke Rollins and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretaries of agriculture and health, have characterized the waivers as a step in tackling chronic disease and steering taxpayer dollars toward wholesome foods.
But in suing to halt the waivers in five states — Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia — the five plaintiffs who receive SNAP benefits argue that the Trump administration violated laws authorizing SNAP and governing changes in policies. The case was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia and brought by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of low-income people, and Shinder Cantor Lerner, an antitrust law firm.
“The practical effect,” the plaintiffs said, “is to destabilize food access for every SNAP participant in the affected states.”
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