How new SNAP restrictions on sugary foods and drinks are affecting Texas residents

Amna Nawaz:

This year, 22 states across the country are changing what people on food assistance can buy with their benefits. The new rules are meant to cut out sugary foods and drinks, a central focus of the Make America Healthy Again movement.

Geoff Bennett:

But advocates fear they could cut down on what food is available for those in need.

Stephanie Sy traveled to Texas, which just introduced its ban, to learn how these new cuts will affect businesses and families.

Stephanie Sy:

At this modest house in Garland, Texas, a line stretches out the door and down the sidewalk. Every weekday, Good Samaritans of Garland welcomes around 300 families to its food pantry.

Sara Kenefake:

Food is what brings them in, because that's the first thing you think of. Hunger is what takes over your mind and your body.

Stephanie Sy:

Sara Kenefake is the pantry's executive director. She says many here depend on the federal government's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to buy groceries. But it's not enough, so they come here.

In Texas, the average SNAP recipient receives $6 per day.

Sara Kenefake:

I mean, you just look at our economy. Things are costing more money, but the other things are not changing, the amount of money we make, our minimum wage, our SNAP benefits. All of those things are not changing.

Stephanie Sy:

And, as of this month, SNAP benefits in the Lone Star State can no longer be used for sweetened drinks like soda or items defined as candy. Allowing states to introduce these types of bands is a pillar of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again agenda.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health Secretary:

We're not giving our children good food. A taxpayer dollar should not be funding the -- these injuries to our children. And we pay for it twice. We pay for it through the SNAP program and we pay for it later on with diabetes and obesity.

Stephanie Sy:

Twenty-one other states are rolling out similar restrictions, but in some places implementation has been rocky. In Texas, some of those who receive SNAP say the guidelines are confusing.

For example, one SNAP benefit recipient we spoke to likes to buy energy drinks for her kids when they play sports. But with 17 added grams of sugar, that mom can no longer buy this with her SNAP benefits.

The state's definition of candy has also raised some eyebrows. It includes chocolate, but also gum and yogurt-covered nuts and raisins.

Britanny Quick, Former SNAP Recipient:

I have seen reports from acquaintances that, I tried to check out, my entire transaction was declined, and I had to figure out what was not covered.

Stephanie Sy:

So what does that mean for somebody at the checkout counter?

Britanny Quick:

It is downright embarrassing if they don't have the cash to cover, because I have been that person. What do you put back? How do you know what to put back?

Stephanie Sy:

Garland mom Britanny Quick visits Good Samaritans every other week. She used SNAP for years to help feed her family of four. She says the changes might restrict a family's options for things like special occasions.

Britanny Quick:

I reminded people, like, hey, this ban is going into effect. If you're using your SNAP benefits to help pay for your kid's Easter basket, make sure you go ahead and purchase it before the 30th. So I know a lot of friends were like, oh, I didn't even think of that.

Stephanie Sy:

There are other things she says regulators may not have thought about.

Britanny Quick:

My kid is says he has an upset stomach, I go by Sprite or ginger ale, whatever it is that gets fluids in him to stay in him.

Stacie Ellis, Excellis Nutrition:

I feel that they are so detrimental to your health.

Stephanie Sy:

Stacie Ellis, a registered dietitian and nutritionist, agrees with the ban, especially on soda.

Stacie Ellis:

When you're consuming it, it's going straight into your bloodstream. It's causing your blood sugar to spike. Your body doesn't like your blood sugar spiking. And so it's going to take it and turn it into triglycerides. And so if you do that day after day, that's going to further increase your risk of heart disease.

And then you will have what we call prediabetes and eventually diabetes. It's a chronic condition, so it slowly starts to deteriorate your body.

Stephanie Sy:

Diet-related chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in the U.S. Obesity and diabetes alone cost the health care system an estimated $586 billion a year.

When it comes to the government's role in what we eat, what do you think that should be?

Stacie Ellis:

I understand people's concern with not allowing people access to certain foods. We do have the freedom to consume whatever we'd like. But I do think the government has a role in educating the population of what we should and should not eat.

Stephanie Sy:

Leslie Redden is a family nurse practitioner in South Dallas, a predominantly Black neighborhood where, at 68 years, life expectancy is more than 10 years less than the national average.

Leslie Redden, Prism Health North Texas:

We're seeing a significant amount of prediabetes actually in our younger population these days.

Stephanie Sy:

How young?

Leslie Redden:

I would say my youngest is probably 9 right now that is in the prediabetic range that I'm personally caring for. And then we see a significant increase in cholesterol levels as well.

Stephanie Sy:

But she says for many of her patients, sugary snacks and drinks aren't a preference. Instead, they may be one of the few ways to get calories for the day.

Leslie Redden:

I don't believe we actually even have a commercial grocery store in this zip code, so like a chain grocery store.

Stephanie Sy:

Reducing sugary drinks, reducing candy, from an outsider's perspective, seems like a good idea.

Leslie Redden:

I mean, it's actually the ideal. I would love for all of my patients to be walking into the store that's across the street that's available to them with their parents and saying, hey, like, what can I buy with my benefits today, and that's going to be fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

But that's not what we have. That's not what they have access to. By reducing the unhealthy foods, it just reduces the amount of food that they can purchase.

Stephanie Sy:

What they do have access to, convenience stores.

Andy Torres, Southside Grocery:

A lot of small businesses like ours aren't going to have grocery aisles, like lettuce and produce and all of that stuff.

Stephanie Sy:

Andy Torres says the restrictions have hit his customers are unclear.

Andy Torres:

I think it would be better if they had an exact list, because it's kind of like a gray area of what you can and can't sell that's not really specified.

Stephanie Sy:

It will also affect his bottom line. An analysis by the National Grocers Association shows the cost to convenience stores to cover changes and ensure compliance with the new restrictions could total $1 billion.

Stacie Ellis:

And I get to see the progress.

Stephanie Sy:

Nutritionist Stacie Ellis is optimistic about the health outcomes that may result.

Stacie Ellis:

I do feel that the message that the government gives plays a huge role in what its citizens will consume. I really think that we will see some improvements.

Stephanie Sy:

But Britanny Quick says the new restrictions won't make her drink less soda. And for many busy working parents, convenience is driving their choices.

Britanny Quick:

The ability to walk by the freezer, grab something and go out and hand it to my child in the car, say eat this on the way, because I was so busy I forgot to make time to make a meal, that's the war that goes on in any parent's head.

Stephanie Sy:

For parents with few options to put food on the table, Quick says the SNAP restrictions are just one extra burden to carry.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy in Garland, Texas.