Arkansas

Arkansas, Indiana attack SNAP purchases

Published

1 year ago

April 16, 2025

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, continues to be in the crosshairs of state and federal lawmakers.

The Trump administration and the U.S. House of Representatives want to reduce the benefit. On Tuesday, Arkansas and Indiana entered the debate, stating they will seek a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove soda and candy from SNAP. The two became the first states to make such a request.

Arkansas wants to restrict the purchase of soda—including no- and low-calorie options—fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, drinks labeled “unhealthy,” and candy, including chocolate and artificially sweetened varieties. SNAP recipients, however, would be allowed to buy ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken, which is currently ineligible for purchase with SNAP benefits.

Indiana’s plan is less detailed. It simply proposes the exclusion of candy and soft drinks from SNAP. However, Gov. Mike Braun signed executive orders that add work requirements for SNAP recipients and reinstate income and asset verification rules. Indiana will also review improper payments and other administrative errors to ensure SNAP complies with federal standards set by the Trump administration.

The National Confectioners Association was among several food industry groups that criticized the actions of Arkansas and Indiana. The NCA said SNAP recipients have virtually the same purchasing patterns as non-SNAP recipients.

Legislation would allow hot food purchases with SNAP benefits

“This policy approach is misguided and not needed when it comes to chocolate and candy,” the NCA said in a statement. “SNAP participants and non-SNAP participants both understand that chocolate and candy are treats—not meal replacements.”

Carly Schildhaus, a spokesperson for the NCA, said only about 2% of SNAP purchases are candy—significantly less than categories like soda, prepared desserts, salty and savory snacks, and baked goods.

“This is why these proposed bans are not needed when it comes to candy,” Schildhaus said. “There are other categories that rank far higher than chocolate and candy.”

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins joined Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders during Tuesday’s announcement of the state’s plan and praised the direction, encouraging other states to follow suit.

“Gov. Sanders is confronting childhood diseases head-on, and it starts with what families consume,” Rollins said in a statement. “[Tuesday’s] waiver announcement is a welcome one, and I look forward to moving through the approval process swiftly.”

Louisiana is among the states considering similar restrictions. State lawmakers there want to remove soda from the list of SNAP-eligible foods.

SNAP benefits on the chopping block

However, Louisiana is also introducing a new initiative aimed at increasing access to healthy foods. The state Department of Children and Family Services launched a pilot program that gives SNAP recipients a 30-cent bonus for every dollar spent on fresh fruits and vegetables at select Walmart stores in six parishes. SNAP shoppers can earn up to $25 per month in bonus benefits during the pilot phase.

Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Idaho are also pursuing initiatives to restrict the purchase of junk food with SNAP. The Healthy SNAP Act, filed by Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., would ban items such as candy and ice cream.

The NCA warned that implementing such restrictions would be nearly impossible.

“If retailers are required to scrutinize individual product eligibility and flag each eligible and non-eligible item at their point of sale, this will substantially increase compliance challenges for retailers and will decrease the number of eligible SNAP retailers,” the group said.

The NCA also argued that definitions of “candy” vary by state. “The same granola bar or trail mix could be banned as a SNAP-eligible purchase in one state, but be eligible across the border in another,” it said.

No city-owned grocery store for Chicago

In Washington, the House Republicans’ proposed budget aims to cut $2 trillion in mandatory spending over the next decade. About $230 billion of that would come from the USDA, which oversees SNAP.

A report released last year by the House Republican Study Committee recommended a 22% cut to the food security program.

Source link

Arkansas

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

Published

51 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

Effort to cut former Arkansas corrections secretary’s position as adviser to governor fails – Arkansas Times

A legislative panel rejected a proposal Tuesday that would have eliminated former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri’s job as an adviser to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A top lawmaker also suggested that Profiri may return to his job overseeing the state prison system, two years after he was fired by the state Board of Corrections as part of a dispute with Sanders.

The proposal rejected by the Joint Budget Committee’s personnel subcommittee would have written into the appropriation for Sanders’ office language eliminating Profiri’s position from the Republican governor’s staff. Subcommittee members voted 9-6 against the amendment, with Rep. Lane Jean not casting a vote.

Republican Sen. Terry Rice introduced the proposal last week, a little over six months after Profiri didn’t appear at a hearing on the now-stalled Franklin County prison project before a committee that Rice co-chairs.

Rice called this a “major trust-breaker.”

“The Board of Corrections members asked Mr. Profiri to share his intended plans as secretary, and they would work with him. He ignored multiple attempts,” Rice said. “I was told during that meeting, he was in the Capitol, had been seen in the hall at the same time. He didn’t even reply and chose to snub legislators’ questions.”

Profiri was fired by the Arkansas Board of Corrections as the leader of the state’s prison agency in 2024, following months of increasing tensions between the constitutionally-independent board and Sanders over opening new beds when the Department of Corrections already struggled to find sufficient staffing. Those tensions eventually resulted in lawsuits, which are still unresolved, and Profiri’s firing.

After he was fired, the Republican governor hired Profiri as a senior advisor, making him the highest paid staffer in her office. Profiri is paid $183,699.98 a year, according to the Arkansas transparency portal.

Jean, a Republican from Magnolia who co-chairs the Joint Budget Committee, asked Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson and Board of Corrections member Lee Watson “what the timeline was” for Sanders to rehire Profiri as corrections secretary, pointing to the new makeup of the board.

“I don’t think there’s any objection to the board, or certainly a majority of the board, to hire him (again). What are we waiting on?” Jean asked.

“What I can say is Secretary (Lindsay) Wallace, she is the secretary, and she will continue as secretary until the governor decides she’s not secretary,” Hudson said. “In the interim, (Profiri) continues to do his job as an adviser to the governor.”

The ongoing lawsuit between the Board of Corrections and Sanders centers on who has the authority to fire the corrections secretary. A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled last year that the board does. Sanders appealed the ruling.

The board’s new Sanders-appointed majority voted to accept a settlement agreement accepting her position that she is the one with firing authority earlier this month, though the lower court order remains in force until the Arkansas Supreme Court rules on the matter.

Sam Dubke, Sanders’ spokesperson, referred the Advocate to Hudson’s remarks when asked for comment on whether Profiri would be rehired as corrections secretary.

Source link

Arkansas

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

Published

13 hours ago

April 21, 2026

Press Room

TST Images: Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, in Tulsa

TULSA, Okla –The Tulsa Drillers defeat the Arkansas Travelers, 11-3, on April 19, 2026 at ONEOK Field and The Sporting Tribune’s Robert Sloter was there to capture the following TST Images.

Luke Fox #15 of the Tulsa Drillers throws a pitch during a game against the Arkansas Travelers at ONEOK Field on April 19, 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.