(Washington, D.C., December 15, 2025) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins published an opinion piece in The Hill highlighting the ways USDA is partnering with Governors to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
“At the direction of President Trump, the Department of Agriculture is empowering states with unprecedented flexibility to manage their nutrition programs. This is a bipartisan commitment from red and blue states alike, and SNAP is finally being steered back toward its intended purpose: getting wholesome foods on the plates of America’s most vulnerable,” said Secretary Brooke Rollins. “Last Wednesday, I was proud to sign waivers for six states that have decided to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These states follow in the wake of 12 others that were approved for similar waivers earlier this year.”
Read the full piece below.
Last week was another exciting week for the historic partnership between the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, and, most importantly, for America’s families.
Last Wednesday I was proud to sign waivers for six states that have decided to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Hawai’i, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia are now approved to implement restrictions on the purchase of junk food and sweetened beverages with SNAP benefits — a long overdue reform that ensures taxpayer dollars provide nutritious options to Americans in need.
These states follow in the wake of 12 others that were approved for similar waivers earlier this year. At the direction of President Trump, the Department of Agriculture is empowering states with unprecedented flexibility to manage their nutrition programs.
This is a bipartisan commitment from red and blue states alike. The chronic disease epidemic does not respect partisan boundaries, and never before has it presented such an enormous threat to our national welfare.
The urgency of the crisis is abundantly clear. Just consider what America’s youth are up against.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 40 percent of the roughly 73 million children (aged 0–17) in the United States have at least one chronic health condition, and over 350,000 American children have been diagnosed with diabetes.
These troubling statistics represent a threat not just to those personally suffering from the health crisis but to U.S. national security. More than 75 percent of American youth (aged 17–24) are ineligible for military service — primarily due to obesity, poor physical fitness, and/or mental health challenges.
Rising rates of childhood chronic disease are likely being driven by a combination of factors. However, according to the Department of Agriculture’s most recent data, 15.6 million children are recipients of the SNAP program — accounting for about 39 percent of all SNAP participants — so improving this program is a terrific place to start.
For too long, sugary drinks were the No. 1 item purchased with SNAP benefits. Not vegetables, not fruit, but soda. The Trump administration is partnering with governors from across the country to remedy that and improve health outcomes.
These governors understand that states should be laboratories of innovation, and I hope to see more states not only explore healthy opportunities for families, but look at other programmatic options that reduce fraud, emphasize work, and preserve the program for those most in need.
As President Ronald Reagan once said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”
He was absolutely correct.
That’s why SNAP is finally being steered back toward its intended purpose: getting wholesome foods on the plates of America’s most vulnerable.
Once again, President Trump is delivering on his promise to Make America Healthy Again, one dinner table at a time.
Brooke L. Rollins is the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
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