Editor's note: This piece was co-authored by Dr. Terri DeNeui.
As mothers and professionals who work in wellness, we are celebrating a major step forward for the health of Americans who receive food assistance. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has approved new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food choice waivers in six states: Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah. These states have taken a major step towards ensuring the health of their citizens, no matter their financial situation or circumstances, and three more executive actions are on the way, as announced by Texas, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
While we certainly celebrate, there’s a major issue that few people know about.
SNAP is funded by federal tax dollars but administered by state governments, and states can make changes by submitting waivers to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Revising what SNAP recipients can or can’t buy with taxpayer dollars is one such change.
Most states don’t encourage families to purchase healthy food while they’re receiving federal assistance. The governments of these nine states have decided to prioritize the health of their citizens by requiring SNAP recipients to purchase only nutritious and healthy foods.
For far too long, taxpayer dollars have subsidized snacks and junk foods that fuel our chronic disease epidemic and lack nutritional value. If SNAP is intended to support “supplemental nutrition”, it needs to be nutritious. But the statistics show what has actually happened to SNAP.
Nearly 2 million Americans died in 2022 from obesity and other preventable chronic diseases and, in the past 25 years, American obesity has increased by nearly 10%. In 2020, a study in the European Journal of Nutrition showed individuals who consumed mostly ultra-processed (aka, unhealthy) foods were 79% more likely to become obese than people who ate less-processed foods. Obesity is caused by unhealthy foods and leads to countless health problems. Over 25% of Americans suffer from chronic illnesses.
As a board-certified nurse practitioner specializing in preventive, functional, and hormone health (Dr. DeNeui), I’ve seen first-hand the devastating consequences of nutrition-related diseases. Too often, I meet patients after they’ve already suffered when our system should have helped them prevent illness in the first place.
Healthy nutrition should be encouraged at the state level and these waivers are a great way to support public health. President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative is charting a new course for food policy. With leaders in the federal government encouraging innovation and states stepping up with smart, responsible reforms, we are witnessing the early stages of a national transformation, one focused on nutrition, prevention, and personal empowerment.
As someone raised in a multigenerational farming family, I (Stacey) know firsthand the connection between food, health, and independence. I’ve seen how access to fresh, nutritious food can transform a home, and how poor food policy can hurt the very families it claims to help. That’s why I’m grateful the USDA and the Trump administration are taking decisive action to restore dignity and health to the dinner table.
Our 50 governors can lead this charge at the state level by submitting SNAP waivers to the USDA. Nine out of 50 is a great start, as these governors are bearing witness that our nation needs to reclaim its values: wellness over convenience, prevention over treatment, and real food over processed junk. But nine isn’t enough. We have 41 states left to go! Nutrition should be a bipartisan issue, and state officials should empower SNAP recipients to pursue a healthier future and shopping cart by submitting SNAP waivers to the USDA.
Those unable to feed their families are in desperate straits. They are vulnerable and we should not respond to their need with junk food that only weakens them. All Americans deserve access to healthy food, and federal tax dollars should be used to encourage healthy lifestyles. Each state needs to empower Americans to live healthy lifestyles, no matter their food budgets.
Stacey Schieffelin is chair of the America First Women’s Initiative and director of Talent & Culture for the America First Policy Institute.
Dr. Terri DeNeui, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, is a board-certified nurse practitioner, founder of EVEXIAS Health Solutions, and creator of the EvexiPEL method, dedicated to transforming preventive and integrative medicine.
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