(Washington, D-C; Iowa Capital Dispatch) – Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday joined a news conference in Washington, D.C., to praise the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Trump administration for allowing Iowa to restrict certain foods under a federal aid program and implement an alternative summer nutrition program for children.

Reynolds spoke at a news conference focused on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that was hosted by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The Trump administration officials discussed approving new waivers for restrictions on what food can be purchased through the public assistance program.

Rollins signed six SNAP state waivers — for Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia — at the event, approving restrictions on food purchases under the program. These waivers will allow states to limit the purchase of certain items, like candy or soda, using food benefits. She said these waivers are part of the administration’s larger “Make America Healthy Again” work, championed primarily by Kennedy.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks at an event Aug. 4, 2025, in Washington, D.C., where U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed six Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) state waivers, approving restrictions on certain food purchases. (Screenshot via C-SPAN)

Though the press conference highlighted approval of new waivers, the USDA had signed off in May on Iowa’s  SNAP waiver. The new restrictions take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2026, and will last for two years. Reynolds thanked Rollins for “enabling Iowa to help lead the nation in SNAP reform.” In Iowa, she said, allowing people to purchase items like sweetened drinks, desserts and salty snacks through SNAP “truly isn’t helping low-income families,” but is worsening problems with obesity.

“Thirty-seven percent of our adults and 17 percent of our youth, ages 6 through 17, are suffering from obesity,” Reynolds said. “And that’s something that as the governor of this great state I can’t accept. And it’s why that we’ve really begun to strategically reform our efforts to help address food insecurity and nutrition.” Another way Iowa is working to address obesity, she said, is through the Healthy Kids Iowa demonstration project, also approved by the USDA in May.

Iowa had declined to participate in 2024 and 2025 in the SUN Bucks program, the federal summer nutrition program also known as Summer EBT, that provides an extra $120 per child to eligible low-income families each month when school is not in session. Critics and hunger advocates said the governor had chosen to leave money on the table that could have gone to families in need, but the governor said she opposed the program over concerns about unhealthy food purchases.

Instead, Reynolds sought federal approval to pursue an alternate program, providing a premade box of food worth $40 each month from 500 access points. The waiver for Healthy Kids Iowa was denied in 2024 under the Biden administration, but approved under Trump.

Luke Elzinga, board chair for the Iowa Hunger Coalition, said some of the promises made about the Health Kids Iowa program, like allowing families to choose food items that meet their preferences and “cultural and dietary needs,” have not happened as the program was rolled out this summer. He also said fewer children received food through the program than projected.