Posted on 08/26/2026 7:19:21 AM PDT by Twotone
A Trump administration effort aimed at discouraging Americans on food stamps from using the government nutritional aid to buy soda is having an impact, a new study shows.
Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits cut their sugary drink purchases by more than 12% from January to June of this year after new state-level restrictions on what people can buy with food stamps took effect, according to a working paper released this week by economic and public health experts at the University of Chicago, MIT and Stanford University.
That reduction in purchases is equivalent to a person buying 34 fewer 12-ounce cans a year, the study notes.
The findings could help shape the often contentious public debate over whether SNAP recipients should be allowed to use food stamps to pay for soda, candy and other unhealthy foods. Reducing Americans' consumption of sugary drinks has become a priority under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leader of the Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again," or MAHA, movement.
As of May, nearly 37 million Americans received food stamps, according to the Department of Agriculture.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
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I have no problem with the elderly and the truly disabled getting government $$$. Everyone else who gets it is a parasite and deserves “stigma”.
Bring back government cheese.
“It just ain’t right i gots ta spend my own money to feed my chirren sugary crap.”
We need a waaaambulance meme for this one...
The fat, young welfare pigs get around it by having plenty of babies with a lot of ‘baby daddies,’ unaccountable and unstoppable. So they can’t work and are put on a permanent diet of government cheese.
These types should be severely restricted. maybe fresh vegetables, some dairy and beans ONLY.
SNAP authorities are making some dumb filtering decisions. I personally know elderly and vets who are on SNAP. They don’t get much to begin with, and one of them is nearly 80 and tries to eat very healthy. She was a regular buyer of Kombucha, specifically the GTS brand (Trilogy, etc). I myself drink that as well. It is one of the heathiest fermented products out there, a critical factor in gut health and even cancer prevention. But the SNAP people have mistakenly added kombucha to the “soda” category, even though it is only 50 calories per BOTTLE with zero added sugar (the only sugar is a natural byproduct of fermentation). So she is now barred from buying kombucha with SNAP.
One who uses his own money to buy [whatever] gets to make his own choices.
One who uses other peoples’ money to buy [whatever] must obey other peoples’ rules.
Fine by me. My money that has been taken from me does not need to be spent for stuff I don’t buy myself. It needs to only be spent for essential foods. Just like the old days with commodities.
But it is suppose to be something that you are on for a while, not a life style. And certainly not a generational life style.
“Bring back government cheese.”
...Dulcolax is 100% on board!
Governmemt cheese...
Are you familiar with The Fat Electrician...?
His 11 minute take on the history of government cheese...
https://youtu.be/kvLMH0wb_0k?si=KydUQaqk5__MGVXG
Very worth the watch, just like the rest of his channel. ;-)
Whoops.
:-)
No wink. TFE has a terrific channel on YouTube.
Does the ban on soft drinks include sugar free beverages like Diet Coke? I am aware that NutraSweet has longer term risks, but it could in the short run reduce obesity among SNAP recipients.
“That reduction in purchases is equivalent to a person buying 34 fewer 12-ounce cans a year, the study notes.”
They didn’t BUY a damn thing. It was GIVEN to them.
If I had my way, every time someone used a snap card a bell would ring at the checkout to show who they were.
Maybe we need a little shame to motivate the deadbeats to go out and fend for themselves.
anyone obese should have their SNAP benefits cut in half.
Drinking sugar-free drinks and other eating other sugar-free products has a very harmful effect on ones body. They are full of chemicals. They trick the brain into thinking it has had something sweet, but it hasn’t. Tax dollars should not be used to buy this for other people.
Water, tea, and coffee would like a word with you.
With tap water available, why are SNAP recipients able to use SNAP to purchase any beverages?
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