Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. encouraged states to submit a waiver to block government food programs from covering soda purchases.
Kennedy said in a post on X that states can help lead the way to a healthier America.
"If there's one thing we can agree on, it should be eliminating taxpayer-funded soda subsidies for lower income kids," he said.
Kennedy visited West Virginia to attend an event with Gov. Patrick Morrisey to bring attention to that state's ban on several food dyes from being used in school nutrition programs.
During the event, Morrisey announced he will seek a waiver to remove soda from the list of approved food items that can be purchased in the state using Department of Agriculture SNAP funding.
In an HHS release, Kennedy said two dozen states are now in pursuit of tighter regulations on the items that can be purchased with government subsidies.
"I commend the 24 states pushing MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) bills to clean up our food system, improve school lunches, submit waivers to SNAP, and promote patient choice," he said.
The government's SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) program is intended to boost the grocery budgets of low-income families so they can afford nutritious food.
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