FMI submits the following comments regarding the April 15, 2025, request of the Arkansas Secretary of Health and Human Services to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to operate a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) pilot project. The request seeks approval for a project that would restrict the use of SNAP benefits to purchase certain foods, and for a waiver of the statutory and regulatory definitions of SNAP-eligible foods. Specifically, the pilot project described in the Waiver Request would “exclude from the definition of eligible foods … soda, low and no-calorie soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, unhealthy drinks, and candy.” Excluded candy would include both “confectionary products with flour and artificially sweetened candy,” and the exclusions would “not extend to flavored water, carbonated flavored water, and sports drinks.”
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