Proposed Alabama bill would ban buying soda with food stamps

An Alabama lawmaker has filed a bill, HB579, that would ban the purchase of soda using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, the legislation would require the Department of Human Resources to annually request a waiver from the federal government to exclude soda from SNAP until the waiver is approved.

“This bill would require the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Human Resources to request a waiver from the United States Department of Agriculture to exclude soda from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program annually until the waiver is granted,” the legislation reads.

Once the waiver is granted the ban would take effect. The bill defines soda as “a carbonated beverage that contains more than one gram of added sugar or any artificial sweetener.”

AL.com left a message with Butler’s office seeking a comment.

The legislation comes as several other Republican-led states are pushing to submit waivers to ban soda and candy from SNAP.

The movement is part of a campaign by President Donald Trump’s administration claiming to, “Make America Healthy Again.”

On Tuesday, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders submitted a waiver to the United States Department to ban the purchase of soda and candy under SNAP.

The decision was praised by USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.

“Today’s waiver announcement is a welcome one, and I look forward to moving through the approval process swiftly,” Rollins said. “I encourage more states across the nation to follow the bold lead of states like Arkansas as we Make America Healthy Again.”

But critics of this campaign by Trump’s administration and conservatives nationwide say that the better way to incentivize healthy eating is by making healthier foods more affordable and giving people more money for groceries.

“If we really want to improve public health, we ought to make healthier food more affordable, more physically available, and convenient,” Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, told NPR.

Marion Nestle, a professor emeritus at NYU and author of Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (And Winning), told the Atlantic she believes that the current efforts by Republicans are merely, “cover for what the real motivation is, which is to cut SNAP.”

If passed Butler’s bill is signed into law it would go into effect on, Oct. 1, 2025.