NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Deputy Speaker Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, has proposed legislation to promote healthy living in Tennessee. The Tennessee Health SNAP Act requires the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) to request a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow the Volunteer State to prohibit the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Deputy Speaker Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, has proposed legislation to promote healthy living in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Health SNAP Act requires the Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) to request a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow the Volunteer State to prohibit the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits on candy and soft drinks.
“The purpose of SNAP is to provide food security and nutrition to low-income Americans,” Zachary said. “There is no nutritional value to candy or soft drinks, and these goods should not be purchased with public funds in Tennessee. The Tennessee Health SNAP Act will help further the nationwide campaign to make America healthy again while ensuring this important benefit is used wisely in our state by residents who rely on it.”
House Bill 1236 instructs the department to have a plan to ensure existing point-of-sale systems can properly enforce the prohibition of candy and soft drinks. The bill will also provide education and outreach opportunities for SNAP recipients on alternative healthy food options.
If the USDA approves the waiver, the DHS will have six months to implement the new program.
Similar legislation has been introduced in the United States House of Representatives to stop tax dollars from subsidizing unhealthy foods, including soft drinks, candy, ice cream and prepared desserts. United States Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has expressed her intent to work with other federal government leaders to prohibit the use of food stamps to purchase junk food and sugary drinks.
More than 20 percent of SNAP dollars are used for sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugars, according to a USDA report.
The SNAP program is an initiative of the USDA and is administered at the state level by the DHS.
House Bill 1236 passed the House Health Subcommittee and will be heard in the House Health Committee in the coming weeks.
State Rep. Jason Zachary represents House District 14, which includes part of Knox County.