Popular sodas like Coke, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew are currently eligible for purchase with food stamps, but that may change once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, has pledged to remove soda from the list of items that can be bought with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. This move is part of Kennedy’s “Make Americans Healthy” initiative, which aims to eliminate soda and other processed foods from the program. In response, soft drink manufacturers argue that they offer zero-sugar alternatives and that soda labels already include calorie information.
A spokesperson for the American Beverage Association stated that limiting SNAP purchases would neither improve health nor save taxpayers money, asserting that such restrictions conflict with America’s values of individual freedom and personal choice.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Coca-Cola is ramping up its lobbying efforts, recruiting lobbyists with ties to the incoming administration and planning to contribute to Trump’s inauguration. Coke officials confirmed the accuracy of the report.
In 2023, approximately 42.1 million people—about 12.6% of the U.S. population—relied on SNAP benefits, with federal funding totaling $112.8 billion. The average monthly benefit was nearly $212 for participants.
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