CHARLESTON, W.Va. –The American Heart Association has come out in support of Governor Patrick Morrisey’s request to remove sugary drinks from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefit eligibility to promote healthier chooses.
The association sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday expressing there support for Morrisey’s decision to ask for this waiver.
Morrisey sent the waiver request to the USDA on May 20th. He made the request as part of the “Four Pillars of a Healthy West Virginia” that he announced earlier this year.
He said in a video when he made the announcement that he has always said that the N in SNAP should start representing nutrition and taking out sugary drinks should help with this.
“Well, now it’s going to even more than you’ve seen in the past, we’re promoting healthy bundles, that’s fresh produce and lean meats and good opportunities for hot foods for West Virginians that you’ve never been able to have before,” Morrisey said.
National Executive Vice President for Advocacy with the AHA Mark Schoeberl says that sugary drinks, especially soda, are the number one item bought with SNAP benefits and that the association has been a huge advocate on the removal of them from the program for decades.
He says that it is a known fact that the consumption of these sugary drinks lead to weight gain, heightens the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and type two diabetes.
Schoeberl said that the removal of these drinks will benefit 275,000 SNAP recipients and that’s the main reason they support the request.
“And we know removing sugary beverages from SNAP could significantly reduce the purchase and consumption of these sugary beverages,” he said. “That’s why, we’re very encouraged and supported Governor Morrisey’s request to the USDA asking to remove beverages from SNAP for West Virginia.”
According to Schoeberl, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has already accepted waiver requests from Iowa, Indiana, and Nebraska for similar requests.
These approvals lead the association to believe that she will do the same thing for Morrisey’s request.
“We are very optimistic that she will also approve the request for West Virginia since it certainly mirrors the recommendations and waivers from the other states,” Schoeberl said.
Morrisey, in his video, expressed his appreciation, not only for Rollins but for Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who have taken on these tough challenges like promoting healthier food chooses.
“To take on these big fights and to help really move the needle in terms of going after the disease states that we have in our country but certainly in West Virginia, we can make big progress going after obesity, diabetes and a lot of other tough health conditions,” he said.
And while the request is to remove unhealthy items, Schoeberl says that it’s much more than that.
“It’s not just about removing unhealthy items like sugary beverages, we are also very much supportive and we’re very pleased to see the Governor and the legislature make this investment to improve the diet of individuals,” he said.
He said that he was very pleased when the Governor and the legislators appropriated $360,000 dollars for the SNAP Stretch Program which incentives SNAP recipients to purchase healthier foods by allowing them to double or triple up their dollars within their SNAP eligibility.
He said they expect at least 14 states altogether to apply for similar waivers.