FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 11, 2024
CONTACT
J. Robertson, Public Affairs Director
james@opportunityarkansas.org
POLL: FOOD STAMP JUNK FOOD BAN HAS BROAD, BIPARTISAN SUPPORT
CONWAY, AR – Today, Governor Sarah Sanders announced her intentions to seek a federal waiver to eliminate the purchase of junk food from the food stamp program (also known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP).
In response, Opportunity Arkansas Foundation released previously unseen polling results that show nearly two out of three Arkansas voters support a junk food ban, including a majority of Democrat and independent voters.
OA Foundation Founder and CEO Nic Horton also released the following statement:
“Eliminating junk food from the food stamp program is a great step towards solving Arkansas’s generational dependency crisis while also protecting taxpayers and preserving limited resources.
Arkansans are compassionate, generous people who believe strongly in helping their neighbors–but they don’t want to finance the type of wasteful spending that SNAP currently allows. For too long, taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill for junk foods that fuel the obesity crisis and then forced to pick up the tab on the back end when Arkansans become dependent on Medicaid to treat chronic illnesses. We must break this cycle and today’s proposal is a strong step towards that goal.
This initiative has strong, bipartisan support from Arkansans of all political stripes and that should come as no surprise. It’s a commonsense approach that will make our food stamp program stronger for those who need it most; it will rein in waste and reduce fraud. It’s long overdue.
On this issue–just like the nation-leading LEARNS Act, Protect Arkansas Act, and historic tax reforms–Arkansas is blazing the trail and showing other states what is possible when we think outside the box and reject the failed ideas of the past.
Today’s news is just the beginning of a new era of welfare reform–and Arkansas is going to be on the frontlines.”
For meetings, bookings, or interviews, contact J. Robertson via email at james@opportunityarkansas.org.
About the survey
About Opportunity Arkansas Foundation
Opportunity Arkansas Foundation is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization on a mission to renew the Land of Opportunity by simplifying government and solving generational problems for the next generation. OA stands ready to partner with state policymakers who share these goals. To learn more, visit
www.OpportunityArkansas.org.
