Mississippi will likely join a growing number of states receiving waivers to modify what recipients of food assistance programs can purchase at the grocery store.
After floating the prospect of seeking permission from the federal government to allow Mississippi to prohibit junk food and sugary beverage purchases with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, Gov. Tate Reeves has officially requested a waiver to do so. In his request, however, the governor sought permission for SNAP users to buy hot rotisserie chickens with their benefits.
Assuming the governor’s request is approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 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 excludes granulated sugar, raw sugar, and other single-ingredient sugars used for cooking and baking.
“Welfare benefits are a hand-up for those in desperate, temporary need,” Reeves said. “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.”
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. Beverages that list aspartame or other low or noncaloric sweeteners as the first two ingredients will remain eligible for sale, according to the governor.
“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,” Reeves added.
“That’s why we’re amending our food stamp rules to allow good sustaining food like rotisserie chickens and disallow sugary candy and drinks,” he continued. “If the first ingredient is sugar or corn syrup, it won’t be available with taxpayer money anymore. This has been approved by the Trump administration in 12 states, and I expect Mississippi to be the next. It’s just common sense.”
Hot prepared chicken will now also be eligible for purchase using SNAP benefits, per Reeves’ request. This includes items like rotisserie and non-fried, non-breaded chicken. 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.
Reeves’ waiver requests go hand-in-hand with President Donald Trump’s administration and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.
The governor’s request come at a perilous time for SNAP, as benefits are not expected to roll out on Nov. 1 amid the ongoing federal government shutdown. Roughly 380,000 Mississippians depend on SNAP benefits, and around 60% of those on the program in the state are children. Nonetheless, an 11th-hour decision by a Boston judge could upend the temporary SNAP pause.
