SNAP

The Texas SNAP reform bill aimed to redirect spending toward protein-dense, nutrient-rich foods. Restricting SNAP to nutrient-dense whole foods would reduce chronic disease incidence and downstream pharmaceutical spending, making it a cost-reducing intervention for the healthcare system. Taxpayers fund SNAP twice over — first through agricultural subsidies that cheapen junk food production, then through SNAP benefits that subsidize its purchase. The total annual cost of the SNAP program is approximately $10 billion per year, funded by taxpayers. A Texas bill proposed restricting SNAP benefits from being used to purchase sugary drinks, candy, chips, cookies, and similar ultra-processed foods. Soda is the single most frequently purchased item under the SNAP program.