KEEPING SODA IN SNAP: Understanding the Other Iron Triangle

Area of Science:

• Public Health Policy
• Nutrition Science
• Political Science

Background:

• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) permits beneficiaries to purchase Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs).
• There is a significant public health concern regarding high SSB consumption, particularly among low-income populations who are often SNAP recipients.
• Despite these concerns, policies restricting SSB purchases within SNAP have not been implemented.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the barriers preventing policy changes to restrict SSB purchases in the SNAP program.
• To identify the political and cultural forces influencing the continued allowance of SSB purchases with SNAP benefits.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research involving interviews with policy participants in Washington, D.C.
• Analysis of political dynamics and stakeholder influences on SNAP policy.

Main Results:

• Policy change is obstructed by a prevailing "personal responsibility" ethos.
• Key political forces include corporate lobbying from the beverage and food retail industries.
• Liberal political factions defend SNAP as income support, prioritizing its breadth over nutritional outcomes; institutional inertia within the USDA and congressional agricultural committees also contributes to resistance.
• An "iron triangle" of bipartisan resistance successfully blocked even a pilot study for SSB restrictions in SNAP during the 2018 farm bill debate.

Conclusions:

• A confluence of cultural attitudes, industry influence, political ideologies, and bureaucratic inertia creates a formidable barrier to updating SNAP policies for improved public health.
• Significant political and systemic challenges must be addressed to implement healthier food options within federal nutrition assistance programs.