SOS 3700 Module 2 Policy Problem Statement Draft Example

Course	SOS-3700 Challenges in U.S. and Global Public Health
Module	Module 2
Paper type	Health policy analysis paper, problem statement draft
Length	About 797 words, 5 pages
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Thomas Edison State University
Program	B.S. in Health Studies
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for SOS 3700 Module 2

Benefits Spent on Soda: Defining the Policy Problem Behind State Waivers That Restrict SNAP Purchases

Student Name

B.S. in Health Studies, Thomas Edison State University

SOS-3700: Challenges in U.S. and Global Public Health

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the problem as the policy debate frames it. The analysis then asks whether the waivers are the right response.

Benefits Spent on Soda: Defining the Policy Problem Behind State Waivers That Restrict SNAP Purchases

Introduction

In 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture started saying yes to states that wanted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards to stop paying for sodas and energy drinks, and a few added candy to the list. Nebraska received the first approval in May, and by the end of the summer at least a dozen states had permission to start restrictions in 2026. Supporters describe the waivers as a way to stop taxpayer money from paying for products linked to obesity and diabetes. Critics call them paternalistic and doubt they will change what people eat. Before judging the policy, this draft defines the problem it is meant to solve.

Statement of the Problem

The policy problem is not soda itself but the poor diet quality of many low-income Americans and the diet-related disease that follows. SNAP, which helps about 42 million people buy groceries in a typical month, was designed to reduce hunger, and it does increase food spending. It was not designed to steer that spending toward healthier food, and evidence suggests it does little to change the healthfulness of what households buy (Hastings et al., 2021). Pooling the dietary studies, Andreyeva et al. (2015) found that people on SNAP scored worse on overall diet quality than people with similar incomes who were not enrolled, drinking more sugared beverages and eating less fruit and fewer whole grains. The problem can therefore be stated this way: a large federal nutrition program spends billions each year without a strong mechanism for improving the diets of the people it serves.

Scope and Significance

Sweetened drinks are a visible part of the problem. A federal analysis of grocery transactions found that soft drinks were the single largest commodity by expenditure for SNAP households, at about five percent of their food dollars, compared with about four percent for households not in the program (Garasky et al., 2016). The difference is real but modest, and it shows that SNAP households and other households buy broadly similar groceries. The health stakes are larger. Simulation research projects that ending SNAP purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages could produce modest reductions in obesity and type 2 diabetes among participants (Basu et al., 2014). Diet-related disease falls hardest on low-income communities, and much of its cost returns to public programs such as Medicaid.

What this page is doingReporting that the spending gap is modest, rather than hiding it, shows the mentor the writer is sizing the problem and not building a case.

Who Is Affected

SNAP households feel the change first, and roughly two of every three people on the program are children, people over 60 or people living with a disability. Retailers, especially convenience stores and small grocers in rural areas, would have to reprogram registers and train staff. Beverage and candy manufacturers stand to lose sales. State SNAP agencies must implement and enforce the restrictions, and the Department of Agriculture must decide how to evaluate them. Public health agencies, food banks and anti-hunger groups have stakes on both sides of the argument.

Why the Problem Is Hard to Solve

Diet quality is shaped by much more than what a benefit card can buy. Food prices, the distance to a full-service grocery store, time to cook, marketing aimed at children and household stress all influence what families eat, and SNAP benefits often run out before the end of the month. A policy aimed only at the checkout counter addresses one link in a long chain. This does not mean purchase rules are pointless, but it does mean the analysis must ask how much of the problem a single lever can reach, and whether households will simply use cash for the items the benefit no longer covers.

What this page is doingNaming the causes a checkout rule cannot reach keeps the problem statement honest and sets up the substitution question the options draft will need to answer.

Separating the Problem From the Proposed Solution

A problem statement should not assume its answer. Restricting purchases is one possible response to poor diet quality, but there are others, including incentives that make fruits and vegetables cheaper, nutrition education and changes to the overall benefit level. A randomized trial that compared these approaches found that combining an incentive with a restriction improved diet quality more than either changing nothing or using a restriction by itself (Harnack et al., 2016). The analysis will therefore treat the waivers as one option among several.

Analytic Question

Stated as the paper's analytic question: compared with the other tools available, would letting states bar soda, energy drinks and candy from SNAP purchases improve what low-income households eat in a way that is effective, fair and workable? The paper will answer it at the federal level, where the Department of Agriculture approves waivers, while noting how state choices shape implementation.

What this page is doingThe analytic question names the decision maker, the criteria (effective, fair, practical) and the alternatives in one sentence, so every later draft can be checked against it.

Next Steps

The background draft will trace the legal authority for the waivers, earlier requests that the Department of Agriculture denied and the evidence on purchase restrictions. Later drafts will describe the stakeholders and politics, compare options and make a recommendation.

References

Andreyeva, T., Tripp, A. S., & Schwartz, M. B. (2015). Dietary quality of Americans by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation status: A systematic review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 49(4), 594-604. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.04.035

Basu, S., Seligman, H. K., Gardner, C., & Bhattacharya, J. (2014). Ending SNAP subsidies for sugar-sweetened beverages could reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes. Health Affairs, 33(6), 1032-1039. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1246

Garasky, S., Mbwana, K., Romualdo, A., Tenaglio, A., & Roy, M. (2016). Foods typically purchased by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) households. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service.

Harnack, L., Oakes, J. M., Elbel, B., Beatty, T., Rydell, S., & French, S. (2016). Effects of subsidies and prohibitions on nutrition in a food benefit program: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(11), 1610-1618. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.5633

Hastings, J., Kessler, R., & Shapiro, J. M. (2021). The effect of SNAP on the composition of purchased foods: Evidence and implications. American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 13(3), 277-315. https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.20190350

SOS 3700 Module 2 instructions, in plain terms

Part 2 of the SOS-3700 final project is the problem statement draft, due early in the term after your mentor approves your topic. It is marked complete or incomplete and carries 3 percent of the grade, but it sets the frame for the whole health policy analysis paper, which carries half the course grade overall. You pick the topic yourself after surveying current federal, state and local policy news, and the syllabus lets it be a fresh bill, a rule, a court decision or another kind of policy. The problem statement should name the problem the policy addresses, show its size and who it affects and pose the question the analysis will answer. The syllabus does not tie the final project drafts to modules; this sample pairs the problem statement with Module 2, The Policy Making Process.

How the SOS 3700 Module 2 example is put together

The draft opens with the policy news that made the topic current, then deliberately steps back from it: the problem is poor diet quality in a large nutrition program, not soda as such. That move matters because a problem defined as its own solution leaves nothing to analyze. The scope section uses federal transaction data and a simulation study to size the problem honestly, including the finding that the spending gap is modest. A short section lists who is affected, which sets up the later stakeholder draft. The writer then separates the problem from the proposed fix by naming alternatives and citing a trial that compared them. The analytic question names criteria and level of government, and a closing paragraph previews the next draft.

Where the marks sit in the SOS 3700 Module 2 rubric

Drafts are marked complete or incomplete, so this one earns its points by covering what the problem statement must contain and by giving the mentor something to comment on. The payoff comes later, when the assembled paper receives its 0 to 100 score and the thinking done here carries much of it. Mentors reading a problem statement look for a problem defined independently of any one solution, evidence of its size with dates and sources, a clear account of who is affected and an answerable analytic question. Statements that read as advocacy for or against the policy before any analysis tend to draw comments asking for revision. Current, credible sources, cited in APA style, show the topic is grounded. Revising in response to comments matters more than polish here.

SOS 3700 Module 2 help from the desk

The commonest misstep is defining the problem as the lack of the policy you already favor, for instance claiming the problem is simply that SNAP pays for soda. State the underlying harm instead and let the policy be one possible answer. Another common gap is size: give numbers, years and sources rather than calling a problem widespread. Hold the question to a single sentence with its criteria built in, and steer clear of wording that a bare yes or no could settle. Pick a policy recent enough to have sources but settled enough to describe accurately. Save your mentor's comments, because the compiled paper is judged partly on how you used them. Send the policy your mentor approved and the Part 2 instructions, and a writer will shape a problem statement around it; the first custom sample costs nothing and normally takes under two days.

Write yours, or have the desk draft it

This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.

More SOS 3700 and B.S. in Health Studies sample papers

SOS 3700 Module 2 questions, answered

Where can I find a free SOS 3700 Module 2 sample paper?

On this page, in the Part 2 draft printed in full: the policy problem behind state SNAP soda waivers defined, sized with federal and research data, separated from its proposed solution and turned into an analytic question.

What goes in a health policy problem statement?

The underlying problem, evidence of its size and who it affects, a separation of the problem from any one solution and the question the analysis will answer.

How much is the SOS-3700 problem statement worth?

Three percent, awarded on a complete or incomplete basis, though the thinking it forces shapes the 35 percent compiled paper.

What are SNAP restriction waivers?

Federal approvals that let a state bar SNAP benefits from buying items such as soft drinks, energy drinks or candy, granted under the program's demonstration authority.

How do I write an analytic question for a policy paper?

Name the policy, the decision maker, the criteria such as effectiveness, fairness and feasibility, and the alternatives you will compare, in one sentence.

SOS 3700 Module 2 Final Project Problem Statement: SNAP Soda Waivers Example