Our Statement on Executive Order 25-30
On Monday, September 29th, Governor Mike Kehoe and the Missouri Department of Social Services announced the submission of a waiver request to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to authorize changes to Missouri’s SNAP program that “prioritizes healthy foods and nutritional value, discourages foods that are high in added sugar and ultra-processed, and supports Missouri agriculture”. While Empower Missouri agrees that our state should prioritize the health of its citizens, we disagree that further restricting our SNAP program is the right way to do so. The state’s rush to submit an unproven waiver without consulting experts in public health, child nutrition, and food security beforehand will create more burden on the Department of Social Services staff and our grocery stores.
SNAP plays a critical role in reducing hunger and improving nutrition, and there is vast evidence that participating in SNAP is associated with better health behaviors. Multiple research studies show that SNAP participants eat a better diet, more frequently access preventative health care and adhere to medication, experience fewer hospitalizations and ER visits, and have lower health care costs than families who are eligible but do not participate in SNAP. The best way to improve health outcomes in Missouri is to strengthen SNAP and other safety net programs, not restrict them. As noted in Section III of Governor Kehoe’s Executive Order, Missouri can and should enhance existing programs like the “Double Up Food Bucks Program” that provides additional financial benefits for healthy, locally grown food purchases, or increase support for other programs that incentivize nutritious choices, such as the WIC and the Seniors Farmers Market Programs.
By focusing on restrictions to the SNAP program, this will create more burden on the Department of Social Services staff who will be required to implement this waiver while also implementing the additional changes to SNAP and Medicaid under H.R. 1. While other states have proposed similar waivers, no state has implemented one. An already strained agency that is unable to answer phone calls will be charged with implementing a new set of restrictions that have never been implemented in any state before.
The implementation of this waiver will also create confusion for both the customer and grocery store staff, and will lead to a loss of revenue for Missouri grocery stores. While the changes would prohibit the use of SNAP for “unhealthy” foods, it is unclear exactly what is included in those categories. Frontline staff at groceries will be left to navigate those conversations with their customers, and in many areas of the state, SNAP recipients may choose to drive an extra 30 minutes to neighboring states without this extra difficulty and limitations.
While Governor Kehoe stated that he planned to consult “public health and nutrition experts, SNAP beneficiaries and administrators, and related business and industry representatives”, this was not done before the waiver was submitted to USDA. Any changes to SNAP —especially those that could restrict or otherwise affect food choices—carry significant implications for food access and should have included food security experts. Food security experts bring valuable insight into the complexities of nutritional access, culturally appropriate diets, the economic constraints of low-income households, and the broader systemic factors that contribute to food insecurity. Their expertise is essential in assessing the potential impact of a waiver on the diverse populations that depend on SNAP benefits, and could have helped guide the creation of this waiver towards more effective solutions for the health and well-being of Missourians.
SNAP purchase restrictions are an unnecessary, ineffective policy that burdens small businesses and stigmatizes the over 600,000 Missourians with low incomes who rely on SNAP every month. If Governor Kehoe wants to improve the health of Missourians, we should work with the experts to focus on real solutions to expand access to affordable healthy foods, instead of policing grocery carts.
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