Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed a provision in the state budget that would have prevented people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - known as food stamps - from using those funds to purchase sugary drinks. But he said he didn’t do that because he disagreed with the principle of the provision.
DeWine said he generally agrees with banning the use of food stamps to buy sugary drinks, but "there are exceptions to everything.”
“I’m in general agreement—that’s general, underline “general”—general agreement with the idea that limited SNAP money is spent on things that are good for people but it’s also gotta work,” DeWine said.
But DeWine vetoed the budget provision that would have prevented food stamp recipients in Ohio from using those funds for sugary beverages. Instead, DeWine has assembled a working group looking at proposed changes to the program. This comes after some retailers said it would be hard to accommodate such a restriction.
The working group will look into how to limit SNAP money to healthier food choices and how to implement any of those changes. Changes to SNAP are also being made at the federal level so the state needs to take that into consideration as well.
