In a historic move, U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke L. Rollins, signed the first-ever waiver to amend the statutory definition of food for purchase for Nebraska’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Starting January 1st, taxpayers will no longer be subsidizing the purchase of soda or energy drinks in the state of Nebraska. Secretary Rollins says the waiver to remove soda and energy drinks from SNAP is the first of its kind and it is a historic step to Make America Healthy Again. Nebraska Governor, Jim Pillen, says SNAP is about helping families in need, get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk they are removing with the waiver. He adds that it is a tremendous step toward improving the health and well-being of the state. Pilen says they had to act because they couldn’t keep letting Nebraskans starve in the midst of plenty.
As part of the Make America Healthy Again plan, they seek to reverse alarming disease trends across the country. Prediabetes now affects one in three children ages 12 to 19–40% of school aged children and adolescents have at least one chronic condition and 15% of high school students drink more than one soda daily. More states are expected to follow suit.
