Morrisey is making changes to SNAP program

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a four part plan Friday to make the Mountain State healthier, including some possible changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Morrisey announced four pillars that he and Kennedy believe can improve health in the Mountain State, including proposed waivers for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that would add a work requirement, among other things. The first pillar in the governor’s program is one that has already been done: the passage of recent legislation in West Virginia banning certain dyes and preservatives in the state’s schools beginning in August and statewide in 2028. The next two target are SNAP, where Morrisey said he intends to seek expansion of work, training and education requirements for recipients and is proposing a federal waiver to no longer include soda as an entitlement in the program.