Kennedy’s travel follows earlier trips to West Virginia, Utah, Arizona, and other states to support similar bills. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has partnered with him to get soda and other unhealthy foods out of SNAP, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is now maintaining a map showing where waivers have been approved.
On Instagram on July 4, Kennedy said “a new American revolution” is underway to combat chronic disease. “We’ve just gotten started here at HHS to rebuild a food and medical system that are worthy of your trust,” he said. “I’m inviting you to join the revolution too by making healthy choices for you and your family.”
However, on the same day, many advocacy groups criticized the administration and Republicans in Congress for making it much harder for low-income Americans to do just that, by reducing access to SNAP benefits and eliminating SNAP-Ed.
“There is overwhelming evidence that demonstrates these legislative and budgetary actions will have harmful consequences to public health and none of these actions gets us closer to improving the health and nutrition security of Americans, which the Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture share as common goals,” Wylecia Wiggs Harris, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said in a statement in response to the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill. (Link to this post.)
