Posted on 01/15/2017 7:12:22 AM PST by Drew68
What do households on food stamps buy at the grocery store?
The answer was largely a mystery until now. The United States Department of Agriculture, which oversees the $74 billion food stamp program called SNAP, has published a detailed report that provides a glimpse into the shopping cart of the typical household that receives food stamps.
The findings show that the No. 1 purchases by SNAP households are soft drinks, which accounted for 5 percent of the dollars they spent on food. The category of ‘sweetened beverages,’ which includes fruit juices, energy drinks and sweetened teas, accounted for almost 10 percent of the dollars they spent on food. “In this sense, SNAP is a multibillion-dollar taxpayer subsidy of the soda industry,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “It’s pretty shocking.”
For years, dozens of cities, states and medical groups have urged changes to SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to help improve nutrition among the 43 million poorest Americans who receive food stamps. Specifically, they have called for restrictions so that food stamps cannot be used to buy junk food or sugary soft drinks.
But the food and beverage industries have spent millions opposing such measures, and the U.S.D.A. has denied every request, saying that selectively banning certain foods would be unfair to food stamp users and create too much red tape.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
zero reason drinks except maybe milk should be allowable on food stamps.
We always had potato chips in the house - candy not so much. But we were thin as rails. There’s more to obesity and ill health than salty snacks.
Agree 100%. I think they should enforce this with fines on any food market that violates the law. I would even go so far as to institute a 10% bounty on citizens who report such violations. Phones with video capability make this quite doable.
I was told of a person who was not disclosing her true living conditions, where she and her illegitimate child were actually living with the father, but were collecting welfare payments and other subsidies even though he has a good job. I asked for her name, but the person wouldn't reveal it. I'd put a bounty on those people, too.
I was aproduct of this type of public schooling in the 50’s and I have since thought that there should have been some cross-training. I still can’t sew worth a damn.
Raised my daughter to ride, shoot, fish, and change her own oil.
Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!
Yup... the dirty little secret of da hood...
Many food stamp users don’t cook. They buy junk food with EBT cards and take their fat kids for fast food meals from the time they are infants, causing diabetes rates to soar. This is true of Black, Brown and White mothers.
(Crock pot meals can cook while you are at work, so that’s not an excuse.)
You've just made "their" list. Now you're going to find out why the Agricultural Department has SWAT teams and umt-teen million rounds of wad cutting ammunition.
Don’t forget meth users who take their EBT card to Walmart and roll out several carts loaded with soda, which they then “fence” to convenience store owners for 50 cents on the dollar. The proceeds of which buy them several days of oblivion.
What is particularly laughable is the amount of time it took the Department of Agriculture to recognize this. They should ask Walmart, Publix and others to help them out a bit. These are incredibly data intensive businesses, they could produce information in real time about EBT user purchasing patterns.
Easily resold
Whoots! der it is
If we want to promote healthier choices, the food stamps can be color coded. Green for veggies, red for meat, etc. The receipt could easily show how much in each kind of scrip was required. No scrip for snack food, and none for soda.
If I were running the program there would be a separate register and a separate line for food stamps at every participating store above a certain size. Hopefully the line would be longer and move more slowly than others. Maximum inconvenience and embarrassment for food stamp shoppers, speed up the lines for everyone else.
And, just to be sure we taxpayers get out money's worth, demand a discount from grocery stores on redeeming scrip.
Non-SNAP households not much better
“The report compared SNAP households and non-SNAP households. While those who used food stamps bought slightly more junk food and fewer vegetables, both SNAP and non-SNAP households bought ample amounts of sweetened drinks, candy, ice cream and potato chips. Among non-SNAP households, for example, soft drinks ranked second on the list of food purchases, behind milk.”
Believe it or not, Common Core has a lot to do with the cutting of shop classes. A principal's career depends on getting those test scores up.
And since Common Core does not test for shop skills, shop goes away. And the shop kids are thrown into advanced math classes, which Common Core does test for. But those shop kids don't want, or need, advanced math classes. They need a
In Mexico, they give bags of rice, flour, beans and milk to the truly indigent. They do not give them credit cards to buy lobster, filet mignon, caviar, frozen pizzas, sodas and junk food — as in the USA.
It is disparaging to see the EBT recipient in line ahead of you purchasing higher quality meats and luxury items (such as junk food) that you cannot afford because of the taxes taken out of your check — in part to pay for that EBT card.
Of course, as one commenter pointed out, sodas are easily sold or traded at discount for alcohol, cigarettes, and lotto tickets (a poor man’s tax... selling the impossible dream.)
Perhaps the US should adopt the Mexico model on food assistance.
Mexican Immigration requires proof of financial ability to take care of yourself and proof on a clean criminal record.
Their voter registration requires photo ID and fingerprints.
These are two other good ideas that should perhaps be discussed.
And lemme guess, they were both utilizing those motorized shopping carts that were once reserved for the elderly.
Another trend I've noticed.
they can't eat one.
I’ve read that a lot of times they buy lots of soda to sell for cash, so they can buy booze, cigs and lottery tickets. Well, and drugs too.
To them, it’s free booze, cigs and drugs, compliments of us taxpayers.
They need a practical education.
(Sorry, the last sentence in #33 got cut off. Probably by some Dept. of Education hacker.)
'Cause too many stores in what would be food forests seem to have too many 100% sales. It doesn't take too many 100% sales to go out business.
Also most fast food places like KFC and McDonald’s accept EBT cards. Incredible.
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