64% of Americans believe Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits should be useable when purchasing soft drinks and sugar-sweetened beverages.
That's according to a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies (POS) for the American Beverage Association (ABA).
The survey included 1,200 respondents nationwide and found that 71% of Americans without college degrees and 58% of Trump voters in 2024 also supported this position.
The findings suggest a broad-based opposition to restrictions on beverage purchases under SNAP.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS) reports that SNAP served an average of 42.1 million participants per month in fiscal year 2023. The program’s total federal expenditure was approximately $112.8 billion, with benefits averaging $211.93 per participant per month. USDA-ERS also reports that SNAP accounts for roughly 68% of the department’s total nutrition assistance spending.
A group of Republican members of Congress recently wrote a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) asking lawmakers to avoid cutting SNAP benefits.
"While we fully support efforts to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse, we must ensure that assistance programs – such as SNAP – remain protected," they wrote.
John Burnett, the First Vice Chair for the New York State Republican Party, told InsideSources that eliminating these SNAP benefits could "alienate working class individuals and families - the very voting bloc that brought Republicans success in 2024."
“President Trump forged a broad coalition of support to win the White House. It was something only he could do, but the entire party benefited,” Burnett told InsideSources, who called Burnett a "Black leader in the GOP."
According to federal data, more than 22% of Latin families in the U.S. have used SNAP benefits to purchase food, as reported by DC Journal.
According to the ABA, the organization was founded in 1919 as the American Bottlers of Carbonated Beverages and later rebranded as the National Soft Drink Association in 1966. In 2004, it adopted its current name to reflect its broader representation of the non-alcoholic beverage industry, including bottled water, juices, sports drinks, and energy drinks. The ABA represents leading beverage companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Keurig Dr Pepper, advocating for industry interests and engaging in public policy discussions.
