In Nebraska, USDA secretary signs waiver slashing sugary drinks from SNAP eligibility

FREMONT, Neb. (KLKN) — Some foods are off the table for SNAP recipients in Nebraska.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins toured Wholestone Farms, a hog processor in Fremont, on Monday alongside Gov. Jim Pillen and Rep. Adrian Smith.

There, Rollins signed a waiver allowing Nebraska to cut some foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

“This is a historic, novel demonstration project to amend the statutory definition of food for purchase by SNAP recipients,” Rollins said.

SEE ALSO: ‘Pop is not a food group’: Gov. Pillen wants to remove some items from SNAP eligibility

Recipients in Nebraska will no longer be able to buy pop and energy drinks with SNAP benefits.

This makes Nebraska the first state with such a waiver. Some neighboring states are trying to get their own waivers.

Rollins said this will save the government and taxpayers money.

She said SNAP is the “biggest budget driver” at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“It’s about $113 billion annual budget,” Rollins said. “Almost 10% of that, to supplementally provide assistance to those on the lower-income level, has for too long been used to buy things that are not nutritious.”

Pillen said this is an effort to help families eat healthier.

“This is the first step to make sure that we help people that are in a lower socioeconomic status, to make sure they can eat healthy again,” he said. “We’re not going to use government dollars to make people unhealthy.”