United States Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, left, and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speak outside the governor's mansion in Little Rock, Ark., Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (AP Images)
The waiver request is part of the Trump administration’s "Make America Healthy Again" or MAHA agenda, which seeks to address chronic disease and healthcare costs by reforming federal nutrition programs.
"We finally have a president who, along with Secretary Rollins, has put a laser focus on solving America’s chronic disease epidemic," Sanders said. "Reforming food stamps is a great place to start."
Trump's policies on food and health are taking the spotlight in his second administration, with a shift toward state-driven solutions focused on prevention rather than treatment. The MAHA initiative is led in part by Rollins and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also appeared Tuesday at a similar SNAP reform announcement in Indiana.
Speaking in Arkansas, Rollins praised the state’s leadership.
"What we are doing here today is affirming the value of federalism in all aspects of governance," she said. "No federal bureaucrat can understand the needs of Arkansas families better than their own governor."
Rollins added that SNAP reform was a key issue for Trump.
"This is one of the things he campaigned on, and this is what the American people voted for," she said.
Sanders said the program, originally designed to fight hunger, has been twisted by outdated regulations and perverse incentives.
"One third of our state has diabetes or is prediabetic," she said. "We’re paying for it on the front end and the back end."
The waiver would affect nearly 350,000 Arkansas residents enrolled in SNAP and is scheduled to take effect in July 2026 if approved.
According to Sanders, 23% of SNAP spending, or $27 billion per year, is used on soft drinks, candy and desserts, while the state spends $300 million annually treating chronic illness through Medicaid.
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"This is not about taking anything away," she said. "It’s simply saying that taxpayers are no longer going to cover the cost of junk food like candy and soft drinks."
Rollins praised Arkansas's SNAP reform plan as a bold step toward improving public health, calling Sanders "courageous" for addressing childhood disease through nutrition.
"We are working to realign USDA and every taxpayer dollar around what is the best and most effective spend," Rollins said.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appears on stage on the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Getty Images)
Rollins stressed that funding levels for SNAP would not change. "It just opens up the opportunity to buy better and more healthy food moving forward," she said.
The Arkansas waiver request was formally submitted Tuesday and includes a 30-day public comment period. The USDA and the governor’s office are expected to begin coordination on implementation details this week.
"We’re hopeful that this gets done very quickly," Sanders said.
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Gov. Sanders' office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Jasmine is a writer at Fox News Digital and a military spouse based in New Orleans. Stories can be sent to jasmine.baehr@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/arkansas-moves-ban-junk-food-from-snap-program-definition-crazy