The Morrisey administration disagrees with a U.S. district judge’s ruling that blocks federal officials from barring the use of SNAP benefits to buy soft drinks and candy.
“We are disappointed by the court’s decision but remain convinced that previous taxpayer subsidized resources should only be spent on healthy, nutritious food for those who need help the most,” said Lars Dalseide, spokesman for the Governor’s Office.
“Our commitment to improving the health of West Virginians has not changed, and we will continue to advance commonsense policies that encourage healthier choices and better outcomes.”
This week, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down federal agriculture department waivers that allowed several states to ban SNAP recipients from using food stamps to buy soda, candy and other items considered unhealthy.
Jackson in a 68-page decision ruled that the agency exceeded its legal authority by approving the state restrictions without congressional approval.
“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” the judge wrote.
“But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”
The judge’s order specifically blocked the policies in the five states that had actively rolled out the bans: Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Last August, West Virginia was approved for a waiver request to prevent benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from being used to buy drinks with sugar and artificial flavorings.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey appeared at the waiver announcement last Aug. 4 with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Thanks to Secretary Rollins, Secretary Kennedy Jr., and the Trump administration, West Virginia is on the forefront when it comes to Making America Healthy Again,” Morrisey said at the time. “We are cleaning up the food, getting active, and rewarding healthy choices.
Under the state’s waiver application, the drinks meant to be removed from eligibility for purchase through SNAP included regular soda, diet soda and zero sugar/calorie soda.
Retailers were going to need to update their point-of-sale systems and train staff to comply with the new rules.
West Virginia’s waiver request acknowledged the potential cost to institute the changes to be be passed along to the state’s 2,118 SNAP retailers.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice, which brought the lawsuit, called this week’s federal ruling a major victory for people who rely on SNAP benefits.
The organization maintained that many of the state restrictions on candy, snack foods and soft “rely on vague, complicated, and counter-intuitive definitions.
“This has caused significant confusion for SNAP recipients and retailers, and has harmed SNAP recipients who rely on certain sugary beverages to manage their chronic health conditions like diabetes.”