Maine health officials will ask Republican President Donald Trump’s administration for permission to ban soda and junk food purchases with food stamps.
WGME-TV reports that Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew says she will once again ask for a waiver to do so. The federal government has never approved a waiver and has criticized Maine’s administration of the federal food stamp program.
LePage last summer threatened to halt Maine’s administration of the program if he can’t ban recipients from buying products like Mars bars and Mountain Dew. The governor cited Maine’s rising obesity and diabetes rates and said he’s standing up to food lobbyists.
A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report on food stamps found soft drinks account for 5 percent of dollars spent on food.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.