MAHA-KY task force learns about state food and nutrition programs, with a focus on SNAP
By Melissa Patrick
Kentucky Health News
The second Make America Healthy Again Kentucky Task Force meeting focused on food access, nutrition and the impact of the food and beverage industry on business.
Allison Adams, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, opened the discussion with an overview of the state of health in Kentucky, noting that according to America’s Health Rankings, Kentucky ranks 41st among states for the determinants that influence health and 44th among states for health outcomes. She also gave a broad overview of how Kentucky fares when it comes to chronic health conditions, diabetes, life expectancy, kindergarten immunizations, health care access and senior health — all of which, she said, are concerning.
“I’m not going to share any new data with you that does not reflect the fact that Kentucky’s health has been poor, and is poor, and has been poor consistently,” she said.
Officials from Kentucky’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, in their overview of the program, said data from June shows that SNAP, formerly called food stamps, supported more than half a million Kentuckians in more than 280,000 households, with most of them children.
Roger McCann, director of the Division of Family Support, Department for Community-Based Services, said the June cost for the program was $96 million, which is currently federally funded.
However, he added, “As the commissioner mentioned, with the passing of the HR1, there could be for states some cost sharing that will come into play.”
McCann also noted that HR1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, eliminates the SNAP Education program, which amounts to about $11 million annually for a program that teaches Kentuckians about nutrition and how to cook on a budget.
Jordan Olije, advocacy coordinator for Feeding America, told the task force that one in five Kentucky children is food insecure and that Kentucky has the second highest rate of hunger nationwide for people who are between the ages of 50 and 59. Further, he said, four Kentucky counties rank nationally for food insecurity: Breathitt, Owsley, Knox and Magoffin.
Olije made some recommendations to the task force, including the expansion of the state’s Double Dollars program for SNAP recipients, which offers incentives for buying locally grown food.
“What I would encourage is, if we can find a way to make way in the Kentucky budget for an expanded nutrition incentive program, we could see benefits like this scaled up in a way that doesn’t just translate to nutrition outcomes, but also to health outcomes,” Olije said.
Representatives from the soft drink and grocery industries detailed information about how the food and beverage industry impacts business. For example, the soft drink companies said they provide more than 4,000 Kentucky jobs and more than $552 million in wages and benefits.
In an op-ed for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Linda Blackford digs into the many complications the task force will face as they consider food and nutrition policies to improve the health of Kentuckians, writing, “for every policy push, there’s a pull.” Further, she expands on the challenges of creating policy to support improved health when the federal government is cutting programs that support nutrition and health.