OAK HILL, WV (WOAY)- On Tuesday, May 21st, Governor Morrisey officially submitted a waiver to have soda removed from the SNAP benefits program.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as SNAP or food stamps, is a financial assistance program aimed at helping low-income families afford food. This is one of Morrissey’s plans to promote the “Four Pillars of a Healthy West Virginia.”
“We’re promoting healthy bundles, that’s fresh produce and lean meat and good opportunities for some hot foods for West Virginians, for some products that you’ve never been able to have before,” explained Gov. Patrick Morrisey. “This is the way we have to do it. We have to get West Virginia healthy again.”
This comes after Morrisey announced a series of statewide initiatives with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy in late March.
Some locals agree that soda should not be included in SNAP benefits. They say that the money they can’t spend on soda can be used for what they need. However, people question it due to the price of “healthier” options.
“Actually the healthier items are not that much expensive. We have sales all the time in our produce,” said Dennis Ramsey, Store Manager of Grants in Oak Hill. “We have fresh potatoes for $2.98, I mean, that’s fresh and that’s healthy. We got watermelons, our cabbage and our heads of lettuce are always at a decent price, so I think they’ll [SNAP recipients] be okay with the changes.”
The waiver was submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is waiting to be decided on. We’ll continue to track this story and update you as we learn more.
