Categories: Mississippi News

Mississippi governor seeks waiver to limit junk food purchases through SNAP

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) announced he requested a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service to ban the purchase of “unhealthy processed foods and beverages” using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Reeves also requested a waiver that would allow the purchase of hot prepared chicken using SNAP benefits.

Sponsored

“Welfare benefits are a hand-up for those in desperate, temporary need. When taxpayers fund these things, they do so strategically. They’re trying to help their neighbors into a better life – a more fulfilling one. That means a job you can be proud of, and a lifestyle that is healthy: on a physical and spiritual level,” the governor said. “In a nation that is printing money daily just to make our debt payments, it doesn’t make sense to throw your tax money at anything other than the true necessities. So it makes no sense at all to fund sugar instead of hearty nutritious meals. That’s why we’re amending our food stamp rules to allow good sustaining food like rotisserie chickens and disallow sugary candy and drinks. If the first ingredient is sugar or corn syrup, it won’t be available with taxpayer money any more. This has been approved by the Trump administration in 12 states, and I expect Mississippi to be the next. It’s just common sense.”

If Reeves’ request is approved by the USDA, processed foods that list sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients will be prohibited for purchase using SNAP benefits. This will exclude granulated sugar, raw sugar, and other single-ingredient sugars used for cooking and baking.

Beverages that list carbonated water and sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients will also be prohibited for purchase using SNAP benefits. Reeves said beverages that list aspartame or other low- or noncaloric sweeteners as the first two ingredients will remain eligible for purchase.

Hot prepared chicken would be eligible for purchase using SNAP benefits. This would include items like rotisserie and non-fried, non-breaded chicken.

According to the governor, Mississippi will also collaborate with the Double Up Food Bucks Program to encourage and increase the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables when hot prepared chicken is purchased.

rssfeeds-admin

Recent Posts

Hackers Exploit Remote Management Tools to Gain Initial Access to Corporate Networks

Threat actors are increasingly abusing legitimate Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools to infiltrate corporate…

21 minutes ago

BeatBanker Malware Targets Crypto Wallets With Audio‑Based Persistence

In a recent discovery, the BeatBanker malware campaign has been uncovered, using a unique method…

22 minutes ago

CastleRAT Exploits Deno Runtime To Bypass Enterprise Security

In a groundbreaking cybersecurity case, ThreatDown Research recently uncovered the first documented use of the…

22 minutes ago

ClickFix Social Engineering Delivers MacSync Infostealer On Macs

In recent months, the ClickFix social engineering technique has emerged as a prominent malware distribution…

22 minutes ago

Iran‑Linked Actors Forge Deeper Ties With Cybercriminal Networks

Iranian state-sponsored cyber actors are increasingly turning to the criminal ecosystem, deepening their ties with…

23 minutes ago

How the Long-Lost Body of Richard III Was Found Under a Parking Lot: Solving a 500-Year-Old Mystery

Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Richard the Third begins with the eponymous character uttering the famous…

28 minutes ago

This website uses cookies.