Black Leaders Praise Junk Food Restrictions in SNAP Assistance Programs

03 Sep 2025Black Leaders Praise Junk Food Restrictions in SNAP Assistance Programs

The ongoing battle to Make America Healthy Again seems to be gaining ground as states line up to remove junk foods from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program.

While black Americans and minority communities suffer disproportionately from diseases caused by poor dietary choices, both the companies that produce these foods and the healthcare industry grotesquely benefit.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and his team - in perhaps the greatest fight of their lives - are diligently attempting to resolve decades of ongoing bad health practices in our country.

Project 21 Ambassadors are responding to these efforts.

Pastor Steven Perry, Project 21 Ambassador:

I am Type 2 diabetic, due to bad choices I have made with food.

When I was in foster care as a teenager, my foster parents meant well in feeding me while on food stamps. But I had an addiction to sugar and I loved Pepsi. If I had other options in a stable environment, it would have given me leverage to decide differently.

I think Secretary Kennedy's fight with junk food is necessary for good health, especially in the African-American community. Processed food has been a subliminal drug in America. The steps he has taken are helping us to get back on track and healthy as a nation.

Horace Cooper, Project 21 Chairman:

Study after study shows that black Americans face significant disparities in nutrition, including lower intakes of essential nutrients and higher consumption of less healthy foods. While socioeconomic and cultural factors may influence these outcomes, federal assistance policy should aspire to obviate these outcomes.

The SNAP program rightly prevents its use for cigarettes and alcohol; it should also discourage access to the kinds of snack foods and sugary drinks that hurt any American's drive for health efficacy. SNAP should encourage greater intake of vegetables, whole grains and dairy products rather than high-fat, high-sodium and calorie-dense dishes.

Black Americans, and indeed all Americans, welcome these changes.

Terris E. Todd, Project 21 Director of Coalitions and Outreach:

The ongoing health disparities in the black American community have been known for decades. Studies over the years have labeled the communities as "food deserts" because of the lack of access to quality, healthy food sources versus the liquor stores selling salty and sugary snacks, often at discounted prices.

Thankfully, the federal government is now intentionally removing these harmful foods from the SNAP program to send a clear message that we will no longer fund these programs causing great harm to American children and families.