Signs saying "Freedom Grows Here" and "Oklahoma loves RFK Jr." clashed with those that said "Protect Medicaid" and "Encourage Immunizations" as Gov. Kevin Stitt addressed dozens in the state capitol rotunda.
There, he announced the "Make Oklahoma Healthy Again" campaign alongside U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. This mirrors the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative under the Trump administration.
"It is a great day in Oklahoma to make Oklahoma healthy again," Stitt said. "I love the spirit behind the MAHA movement. A desire to improve health outcomes across America without government mandates."
To help implement the Make Oklahoma Healthy Again initiative, Stitt's order created the MOHA Advisory Council. He designated the Oklahoma State Department of Health as the lead agency for the initiative and directed its Commissioner of Health to regularly consult with the council.
Stitt signed an executive order requiring two state agencies to stop promoting or endorsing the fluoridation of the public water supply and state leaders to review the presence and use of artificial food coloring in certain programs. He also announced the state is requesting a federal waiver to exclude "carbonated soft drinks and candy" using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits.
Oklahoma requests SNAP restrictions for carbonated soft drinks and candy
Oklahoma is joining other states in asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restrict junk foods in SNAP.
"Eating healthy foods today is going to reduce health care spending and dietary-related illnesses later on in life," Stitt said.
The department has not approved such restrictions in the past but recently, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, joined by Kennedy, has signed off on waivers excluding certain foods such as soft drinks from SNAP benefits. Requests in Arkansas, Idaho, Nebraska, Indiana, Iowa and Utah have been approved.
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services requested a similar waiver under Stitt’s direction. It’s unclear what the request looks like. The department did not provide a copy of it before publication.
While addressing the crowd, Kennedy said if people want to drink soda, they have the right to do so but the federal government should not be paying for it through taxpayer dollars.
"American children have an obesity crisis. But they didn't suddenly get indolent and lazy and gluttonous," Kennedy said. "We are mass poisoning them."
SNAP is the nation's largest food assistance program and 16.8% of Oklahoma's population received the benefit in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the USDA. Although lawmakers say they want to encourage better nutrition, food advocates say waivers would have harmful impacts.
After the announcement, Chris Bernard, president and CEO of anti-hunger advocacy group Hunger Free Oklahoma, released a statement. He said the organization shares the goal of improving health outcomes in the state, but this approach is "misaligned."
One in five Oklahomans are food insecure and he said that insecurity is linked to poor health outcomes. He said this is why the organization works to expand food programs, including summer EBT which the state does not extend while certain tribal nations do administer the program.
Bernard said it's important to note SNAP recipients buy food similarly to other Oklahomans.
"Singling out low-income families for restrictions that don't apply to anyone else is both unfair and ineffective if the goal is to improve public health," Bernard said in the statement.
The organization listed a few ways the state could accomplish the goal of making people healthier, including administering summer EBT, investing in uncomplicated nutrition incentives and increasing healthy food access.
"If we truly want to improve the health of Oklahomans, we must look at solutions that incentivize and make healthy choices easier, rather than police the grocery carts of our most needy neighbors," Bernard said in the statement.
Bernard said the organization hopes the Advisory Committee formed under the executive order will find the connection between hunger and health.
Comprehensive reviews of fluoride in drinking water and food dyes
Leadership at the Oklahoma State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Quality are being tasked with reviewing policies related to the fluoridation of Oklahoma's public water supplies.
In his executive order, Stitt gave both agencies 90 days to submit a written report documenting fluoridation practices across municipal water systems and rural water districts. Following this report, agency heads have 60 days to revisit and revise any formal positions on fluoridation.
But Stitt was clear he's instructing the Oklahoma State Department of Health to stop recommending it.
"Cities and water districts, they can still choose to do what they want based on their constituents and the science," Stitt said. "But it's no longer going to be a recommendation from the State Health Department."
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral in almost all water supplies, and many communities add small amounts to their water to prevent cavities and promote oral health, per the CDC. The American Dental Association reaffirmed its support of community water fluoridation amid Kennedy's confirmation process.
Stitt also instructed state agencies providing meals to Oklahomans to discontinue the use of artificial dyes, "whether it be school lunches or in our prisons."
During the 2025 legislative session, lawmakers considered Senate Bill 4, which would have banned 21 substances, including blue dye 2 and aspartame from food and ingestible drugs. The measure passed committee but never reached the full Senate. Co-author of the bill, Sen. Kristen Thompson, R-Edmond, has since requested an interim study on the impact of limiting food dyes.
Press conference elicits mixed reactions
Providers representing the Oklahoma State Medical Association attended the press conference. Jordan Zimmerman, a fourth-year medical student, said before it began that members came in their white coats to make their presence known. He said he was there in support of primary care, Medicaid and future health care professionals.
The association released a list of ways to "Make Oklahoma Healthy Again" yesterday evening. Those include:
- Protecting Medicaid funding
- Stopping "insurance company overreach."
- Restoring DOGE funding cuts to health care.
- Educating Oklahomans about the importance of preventive health care.
- Invest in health care infrastructure and education.
Dr. Raymond Cornelison, a dermatologist practicing in Chickasha and Clinton, said he attended in support of science. He said Oklahoma's vaccination rate has dropped to an "unacceptably low" level, and he hoped Kennedy would encourage people to get vaccinated in his address.
Earlier this month, Kennedy removed all 17 members of an advisory committee that helps craft vaccine policy and recommendations for the CDC. He replaced them with a smaller section of his own. Some have advocated against vaccines.
Oklahoma's vaccine exemption rates among kindergartners have risen from 4.7% in the 2022-2023 school year to 5.7% the following year. The CDC notes exemptions above 5% can increase the risk for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
"Vaccines are valuable. Vaccines, like everything in medicine, [are] not 100% perfect, but they're rigorously reviewed before they're allowed to come on the market," Cornelison said. "They do a whole lot of good and, unfortunately, we're dealing with a growing number of people who are anti-vaccine and, unfortunately, that will cost lives."
After the conference, Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, said it is wonderful to have Kennedy in Oklahoma, and the governor's emphasis on the Make Oklahoma Healthy Again is "extremely important."
"There are matters across the board that are bipartisan that we need to do to protect our citizens from all kinds of dangers that are there for them," Deevers said. "And everybody has, across the spectrum, has desires to see our food and our air and environment much more healthy."
Across the rotunda, Lauren Wuethrich clutched a sweet potato cutting she got from another attendee. The Oklahoma resident said she is a proponent of healthy foods and didn't know what to expect out of the event.
"I just wanted the experience of being here," Wuethrich said. "But everything that they've said and that they're trying to move forward, I agree with. I do agree with removing foods that are terrible for us and our bodies from government assistance."
Kennedy said he is "gratified" by the actions Stitt is taking.
"The real changes have to come from the grassroots, from local leadership," Kennedy said.
StateImpact Oklahoma is a partnership of Oklahoma’s public radio stations which relies on contributions from readers and listeners to fulfill its mission of public service to Oklahoma and beyond. Donate online.
