Federal government bars “junk foods” from SC SNAP program

COLUMBIA — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a South Carolina waiver to eliminate residents’ ability to buy “junk foods” like candy and soda with their taxpayer-funded benefits under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

First announced by Gov. Henry McMaster in August , the shift in policy would disallow beneficiaries of those benefits — colloquially known as food stamps — from using them to purchase foodstuffs “understood to have low nutritional value,” a definition which includes candies, sweetened beverages and South Carolina’s official hospitality beverage: sweet tea.

There are, however, specific carveouts for baking chocolate or sweetened protein bars.

“Thank you to President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Brooke) Rollins for approving our light-t