The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Kentucky Task Force, established by House Speaker David Osborne and Senate President Robert Stivers earlier this year, has unanimously approved a series of recommendations for lawmakers to consider when the General Assembly convenes on Jan. 6.
The panel’s recommendations center around three common themes: improving access to healthy foods, focusing on physical health and wellness, and treating the root causes of disease through the use of functional medicine.
The task force is co-chaired by Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, and Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville.
Funke Frommeyer said the task force’s work throughout the interim has led to an increased focus on health and wellness.
“The MAHA Task Force has certainly elevated the discussion around root cause wellness and highlighted possible solutions that will improve Kentucky’s outcomes, with a focus on nourishment and educating our residents on healthy, nutritional food choices,” she said. The Kentucky General Assembly has invested a great deal of its time during the interim. Let’s not forget that private enterprise and even non-profits can and do contribute to this conversation, and some of our recommendations may result in legislation this spring.”
Lockett noted that the panel’s work has been guided by months of collaboration with health and wellness advocates from across the Commonwealth, whose insights helped shape the task force’s vision. He underscored the growing recognition that nutrition, prevention, and healthy lifestyle choices are central to improving long‑term outcomes for Kentucky families.
“Improving Kentucky’s health outcomes is a priority and touches every facet of quality of life here in the commonwealth, he said. “We have a real opportunity to lead the nation in redefining what healthy communities look like. These recommendations represent the first steps toward a stronger, healthier future for all Kentuckians.”
Recommendations include:
Healthy foods
• Support the “Food is Medicine” programs across Kentucky, including hospital, health insurance, and Kentucky Department of Agriculture collaboration with local communities and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services as well as other state agencies and associations such as the Kentucky Medical Association.
• Address the purchase of healthy foods with Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) dollars.
• Seek ways to improve healthy meals in schools statewide through improving procurement contracts, nutrition education, healthy meal preparation, and supporting farm-to-school programs.
• Find ways to address public education and access to foods that are not ultra-processed.
Physical health and wellness
• Strengthen physical education requirements for high school graduation.
• Increase accountability and transparency in local school wellness policies.
• Strengthen efforts to improve the overall health of Kentuckians by:
Expanding public awareness of healthy nutrition and lifestyles;
Reducing public exposure to environmental toxins;
Increasing public awareness and input into state health policies.
Functional medicine
• Increase health care provider education on integrating nutrition and diet strategies for improving health outcomes for chronic disease.
• Improve health insurance coverage of health programs that include functional medicine.
• Encourage the integration of functional medicine principles in preventative health initiatives.
Lockett, who sponsored legislation that would have prohibited SNAP benefits from paying for soft drinks, candy, and other “junk food” during the 2025 Regular Session, added that he expects similar legislation to be filed again. However, lawmakers are also looking at expanding the use of SNAP to cover other foods, for example hot prepared foods that would provide healthy options to Kentucky families.
Members of the task force also discussed specific proposals, including those passed in other states. Among them are mandatory food warning labels for food products sold in Kentucky that contain specified additives (such as certain artificial colors, bleached flour, BHA, and titanium dioxide). Lawmakers also discussed incorporating nutrition education across the education pipeline to ensure future health professionals and community leaders are trained in nutrition and metabolic health. Mandatory physical activity for grades K-5 and the creation of a nutrition advisory committee were also discussed.
The task force will formally present its recommendations to legislative leadership ahead of the 2026 session. The full presentation and supporting materials are available to the public through the Legislative Research Commission’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
Kentucky Senate