Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey on Friday as the Republican governor signed the first letters of intent seeking waivers to allow the state to eliminate soda from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit eligibility.
Kennedy, who is spearheading the Make America Healthy Again movement, praised Morrisey during a news conference at a school in Martinsburg. The governor introduced his four pillars of a healthy West Virginia.
“Food is medicine,” Kennedy said as Morrisey spoke of the need to ensure “taxpayer-funded nutrition programs promote wholesome, nourishing choices.”
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In attendance was TrueMed co-founder and MAHA advocate Calley Means, who is rallying behind the call to target sodas and ultra-processed foods in schools.
“President [Donald] Trump is leading the first administration in American history to clearly say that the goal of its Health and Human Services department is to reverse the chronic disease crisis,” Means told Fox News Digital.
Means called Kennedy’s speech an important moment for the MAHA movement.
“An HHS secretary never in history has stood at a podium and said ‘food is medicine’ before Bobby Kennedy [did so] today,” Means said. “This is a profound statement.”
He added, “What Bobby Kennedy is saying is that we need to address the root cause of our chronic disease crisis and focus on food.”
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A Department of Agriculture survey from June 2021 found that 61% of SNAP participants said the most common barrier was the affordability of foods that are part of a healthy diet.
The regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda is linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meredith Potter, senior vice president of the American Beverage Association in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital the health of Americans is an “important conversation to have.”
“The reality here, though, is that soda is not driving obesity in this country,” Potter said.
“Obesity rates have increased,” she added.
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“At the same time, soda consumption has declined. Beverage calories overall have declined.”
Potter said cutting soda from SNAP eligibility won’t save taxpayers money.
“You’re not reforming the program. You’re not cutting the program. You’re just telling certain Americans who need help making ends meet at the end of every month what they can and can’t buy,” she said.
Means said the goal is not to take soda away from anyone.
“What this move from Secretary Kennedy does is say that states can prevent the taxpayer subsidy of soda,” he told Fox News Digital.
At the news conference on Friday, Gov. Morrisey shared his plans to change school lunches.
“Let’s start with no more dyes and dangerous additives in the schools,” he said. “We know that studies show that can lead to issues with hormones and hyperactivity and learning challenges.”
Earlier in the week, the governor signed legislation that prohibits certain harmful food dyes in school lunches.
MAHA bills have popped up across the country, with many targeting nutrition in schools.
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In February, the Arizona House of Representatives passed the state’s Healthy Schools Act, which bans ultra-processed foods containing harmful additives from being served in public school meals.
“We have said since 2006 that schools are special places,” Potter also said.
“When it comes to kids, parents should decide.”
Peter Burke of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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