by Jacob Godley
I work in the grocery industry, supporting stores like Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, and 99 Cents Only Stores—places that are more than just convenience options. For many Tennesseans, especially in rural and underserved areas, these are the only nearby sources of groceries. That’s why I’m deeply concerned that even though SB1154, the so-called “Tennessee Healthy SNAP Act,” didn’t pass the General Assembly, its policies may still move forward through a federal waiver.
This bill would have directed the state to ask Washington for permission to ban SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soft drinks. Supporters framed it as a public health initiative. But for those of us in the food business, this proposal was always more about control than nutrition—and more about bureaucracy than results.
The data tells a different story than the rhetoric. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 23% of SNAP benefits go toward “junk food”, a category that broadly includes sugary drinks, candy, desserts, and salty snacks. That means 77% of SNAP dollars are spent on essential groceries—meat, vegetables, dairy, grains. In fact, the top 10 most-purchased food categories are virtually identical between SNAP and non-SNAP households. This idea that SNAP users are wasting taxpayer money on soda and candy just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.
What does hold up is the cost of trying to regulate food choices through the government. The USDA has estimated that implementing restrictions similar to those proposed under SB1154 could cost over $600 million annually in new bureaucracy alone. And for retailers—especially the dollar stores I work with—those costs come on top of already razor-thin margins. We’d be forced to reprogram point-of-sale systems, retrain staff, and constantly monitor eligibility for thousands of products, all while risking fines for noncompliance.
Many stores might just opt out of accepting SNAP altogether. That would hurt the very communities this bill claims to help—families in rural Tennessee who rely on SNAP and may have no other grocery store for miles.
Even worse, this sets a troubling precedent. If the government starts deciding what low-income families can buy, where does it end? It might start with soda and candy, but they’ll come back for more and more—until the government is deciding everything you’re allowed to eat. Do we trust bureaucrats in D.C. to know better than Tennessee families what’s right for their kids? I don’t. And I don’t think most Tennesseans do either.
This isn’t a partisan issue—it’s a freedom issue. Even President Trump, a strong advocate for conservative values, declined to pursue similar restrictions during his presidency. He understood that this kind of policy doesn’t align with small-government principles, doesn’t work, and doesn’t reflect the values of the working-class voters who support conservative leadership.
The legislature got it right when it chose not to pass SB1154. Now, the governor has a chance to do the same by declining to request a federal waiver.
Governor Lee, I urge you—don’t revive a policy that’s bad for business, bad for families, and bad for Tennessee. Let’s focus instead on real solutions that promote access to healthy food and trust Tennesseans to make their own choices.
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Jacob Godley is a Grocery Industry Professional in Sumner County.
