Idaho governor approves candy, soda SNAP ban bill

Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun

BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Idaho will try to ban a food assistance program from covering candy and soda.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law House Bill 109, which requires the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to seek federal approval to exclude candy and soda from foods eligible for coverage by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

Idaho’s bill is part of the national movement known as “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, promoted by U.S. health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the bill’s cosponsor Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene has told lawmakers. 

“Idaho welcomes the MAHA movement. It is all about looking for creative ways to improve nutrition and increase exercise, the two main factors that influence overall health,” Little wrote in a prepared statement Tuesday. “Secretary Kennedy said it so well: we need to take better care of ourselves and each other. He said it is an act of patriotism, and the future of our nation depends on it. Idaho couldn’t agree more.”

How will the SNAP bill affect local retailers?

Business industry representatives oppose the bill. Arguing the bill wouldn’t be workable, Idaho House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, has said it would cause grocery stores to stop accepting SNAP.

But bill cosponsor Senate Majority Caucus Chair Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, says he’s skeptical the bill would be hard on retailers. He said the bill’s candy definition is used in 24 other states’ sales tax laws. 

Idaho’s new law takes effect July 1. 

In a prepared statement, Washington, DC.-based nonprofit Food Research & Action Center SNAP Deputy Director Gina Plata-Nino critiqued SNAP restrictions, saying they “only deepen food insecurity and strip people of their autonomy.”

“This push to restrict what Idaho households can buy is an ill-conceived, recycled attempt to shame people who need food assistance and strip them of their dignity and autonomy when data shows that their diet isn’t much different from anyone else’s,” Plata-Nino told the Idaho Capital Sun. 

Little signed the bill into law on Tuesday, the governor’s office announced in a news release. The bill passed the Idaho House on a 48-20 vote, after passing the Senate on a 25-10 vote with amendments. 

In the Idaho governor’s office news release announcing Little signed the bill, Kennedy wrote in a prepared statement, “I urge all governors to follow Idaho’s lead and submit innovative SNAP waivers to the USDA to reverse the childhood chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again.”

Bill’s candy definition is broad, and would ban granola and power bars, critics say

Pushback has largely focused on the bill’s broad candy definition, which critics say would also ban granola bars and power bars.

The bill defines candy as “a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings” in several forms.

Under the bill, candy would not include items that contain flour or need refrigeration. The Senate amended the bill to tweak the candy definition, removing an exemption for items with more than 10% flour by weight. 

The bill’s soda definition also appears to be broad.

Under the bill, soda includes nonalcoholic beverages with sweeteners, artificial or natural. But the bill doesn’t consider soda to be drinks with more than 50% juice, containing milk or milk substitutes, or that need preparation, such as powders or concentrates.

About 132,000 Idahoans are enrolled in SNAP, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare figures, receiving an average of $177 in monthly program benefits.

If the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, doesn’t grant Idaho’s candy/soda SNAP ban waiver, the bill says Health and Welfare “shall request such a waiver annually until such a waiver is granted.”

The bill’s fiscal note estimates it would not have a fiscal impact on the state budget.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement she was excited more states “are heeding the call to Make America Healthy Again.”

“Governor Little is a true partner to USDA, and we look forward to working together on ways to use SNAP to improve health outcomes for Americans and encourage better use of taxpayer dollars,” she added.