WASHINGTON — In a letter to the US Department of Agriculture, the Independent Bakers Association (IBA) reaffirmed its opposition to food choice restrictions in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The letter, addressed to USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack, called on the Department to “avoid advancing policies that would lead to restricting food choices available in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.”

In July, the House Appropriations Committee eliminated a provision in the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 (farm bill) that would have enabled states to pilot programs prohibiting SNAP recipients from using their benefits to buy foods considered unhealthy. The provision, led by Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, chairman of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, aimed to address obesity and related chronic health conditions by limiting SNAP purchases to food and beverages that are “nutrient-dense,” based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

However, an amendment to strip out Harris’ provision — proposed by Representative Sanford Bishop of Georgia, ranking member on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee — was approved in a voice vote during a July 10 markup session that advanced the fiscal-year 2025 farm bill out of committee.

“We urge you to preserve the current level of choice that SNAP participants have and reject restrictions or pilots that will impact not just retailers, their employees, food manufacturers and others, but most importantly SNAP participants, who deserve to have the same dignity of all consumers to choose the foods that are best suited for them and their culturally relevant needs,” the IBA said. “We encourage you to focus on proven policy strategies to enhance nutrition and food security, such as the incentives provided through the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives, SNAP-Ed, and improving food access and affordability.”

Food industry trade groups and other organizations had lined up against food choice restrictions in SNAP. Opponents argued the provision would have impaired food access by preventing SNAP recipients from exercising the same freedom of choice in buying foods and beverages that other Americans have, as well as impacted food industry stakeholders — notably retailers and manufacturers.

“SNAP restrictions will reduce individual dignity, not improve health outcomes, and increase administrative burden for both state agencies and retailers,” the letter stated. “This will cause unnecessary disruption for participants, retailers and their employees, who serve as key private sector partners in implementing these programs, and food manufacturers, who are constantly innovating to address the very same challenges identified in the National Strategy (on Hunger, Nutrition and Health).”

The USDA has “made great strides to reduce the stigma” of receiving SNAP benefits, the letter noted.

“Outright restrictions or pilots for restrictions will serve to increase stigma associated with the program and disproportionately impact communities of color that have higher SNAP participation rates,” the letter said. “Administrative hurdles — such as requiring USDA to maintain and share in real-time a list of foods that are eligible for purchase through SNAP, including interoperability between states or localities conducting pilot projects and other locations — may hinder our neighbors’ ability to fully leverage this hunger program when they need additional support to put food on their tables.”

Introduced by the White House in September 2022, the five-pronged National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health aims to expand food access and affordability, integrate nutrition and health, empower all consumers to make more informed and healthier food choices, enhance nutrition and food security research, and promote exercise. The effort was a response to the earlier “Call to Action for White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health,” in which the administration set goals to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030, while eliminating disparities among the most-impacted communities.

“The National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health delineated the many different approaches that will help end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030,” the IBA letter said. “It is commendable that the National Strategy did not include punitive restrictions limiting SNAP participants’ ability to select their food choices for themselves and their families. Instead, the National Strategy focused on empowering all consumers, not just consumers with low income, to make and have access to healthy choices, leveraging information and incentives.”

The letter also cited research showing that Americans facing food insecurity overwhelmingly oppose measures that may curtail their access to food or ability to make their own food purchasing decisions.