Should SNAP/EBT allow people to buy pop and candy bars ?

[Yvonne Smith]

This is something that has been talked about for some time, and now Health Secretary RFK Jr is trying to make it so that things like soda pop , candy, and other items that barely classify as food, and certainly not as healthy, can no longer be purchased with SNAP benefits. SNAP stands for Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, and the idea was to help low income Americans be able to have better quality food and be healthier.

Now, a major part of the SNAP funds are being spent on things like candy, cookies, soda pop, and other items that really have no nutritional value, and are in fact, very unhealthy.
Kennedy wants to stop this funding, which is supported by the huge companies that produce these unhealthy foods, and the food industry is fighting back because they do not want to lose the millions of dollars they get from SNAP purchases of snack foods and beverages.

As a person who relies on SNAP benefits for groceries, I completely agree with this, and i would like to see it changed so that these non-healthy foods are off the list of eligible items, and more health foods are allowed on the program.
Right now, I can buy a soda pop, but not a healthy protein drink. I can buy candy bars, but not fiber bars or protein bars. Even crazier, I can buy a cold rotisserie chicken with EBT, but not a hot one……… tell me why that makes sense ?

People against changing the rules are saying that a person should be able to use their SNAP benefits to buy whatever food items they want to buy, healthy or not, and it is discrimination to not allow pop and candy bars in the program.
If that is the case, then why weren’t these same people complaining that you can only buy a cold chicken and not a hot one ? Obviously, it is not the person’s health they care about, it is the profit they make from selling the food.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

People against changing the rules are saying that a person should be able to use their SNAP benefits to buy whatever food items they want to buy, healthy or not, and it is discrimination to not allow pop and candy bars in the program.

Discrimination? That's really reaching. I hope he remembers water is healthy and not all places have good water. For example, the water around here will mold if left sitting, and it has oil in it. For that reason, I have to drink filtered water. I have a two and a half gallon jug and I used buy Winco's filtered water and then boil it at home. It used to be 25¢ a gallon, I don't know about now because I won't drink water from anywhere around here. Instead I buy Crystal Geyser Spring Water, because it's illegal in California to say that if it isn't Spring Water.

If that is the case, then why weren’t these same people complaining that you can only buy a cold chicken and not a hot one ? Obviously, it is not the person’s health they care about, it is the profit they make from selling the food.

It's legal for any SNAP participant to get hot food in all California Counties. At least until they can't, which as always, could happen any day. And why wouldn't Congress change the law so people have to eat cold food only if they don't have a way to cook. They get paid a six figure salary whether they work or not, with our tax dollars.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

I won't weigh in too strongly on this because I haven't relied on any welfare programs since I was a kid. I probably could have qualified before I finally got my first solid job, but being alone and without connections I didn't know the ropes anyway and just gutted through the deprivation. For quite a few years my staples were boxed mac'n'cheese, canned tuna, frozen vegetables, and other cheap and stable food products (mainly house brands).

But the junk food shouldn't be covered. No wonder kids are raised on it substantially. When "free" and it quickly shuts them up I can see "easy livin'" parents taking that path. With adulthood delayed until the 30s now such eating habits probably do not easily change.

Water? That one seems bizarre to me. Why would one live somewhere with undrinkable tap water? I suppose it is just outside of my experience.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

Discrimination? That's really reaching. I hope he remembers water is healthy and not all places have good water. For example, the water around here will mold if left sitting, and it has oil in it. For that reason, I have to drink filtered water. I have a two and a half gallon jug and I used buy Winco's filtered water and then boil it at home. It used to be 25¢ a gallon, I don't know about now because I won't drink water from anywhere around here. Instead I buy Crystal Geyser Spring Water, because it's illegal in California to say that if it isn't Spring Water.


It's legal for any SNAP participant to get hot food in all California Counties. At least until they can't, which as always, could happen any day. And why wouldn't Congress change the law so people have to eat cold food only if they don't have a way to cook. They get paid a six figure salary whether they work or not, with our tax dollars.

There is no problem with bottled water, so it would not be a problem to buy that. We use a filter purifier, but I know it does not get all of the contaminants out, and have been thinking about having a water distiller; but they are expensive. (Maybe with some of my survey gift cards ? ). The main thing with pop and candy, is that they are not healthy and are not even really food for our body, when you come right down to it; but the government spends literally millions of dollars for people to feed this junk to their kids.

It might be that California has a special program that allows people there to purchase hot foods with their SNAP cards, since each state has their own program. Here in Alabama, they follow the FDA rules of no hot foods allowed.

 

[Jacob Petersheim]

What seems refreshing to me is seeing suggestions to improve health being made along with a mechanism for implementing them. Not just vague words that might or might not make it into some random bill, watered down with loopholes along with 100 unhealthy carve-outs for industry attached.

 

[Don Alaska]

I think that the SNAP, WIC, and other government-funded programs should all have a common list of foods and food types that can be purchased. Once that is established, it should be illegal to charge sales tax on the foods listed. They should be considered necessary foods. Pop, snack foods, and candy should not be included unless necessary for some health condition and "prescribed" by a healthcare provider.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

Doc: "You need refills for your meds?"
Patient: "Yes."
Doc: "Anything else?"
Patient: "Yes! I need a Snickers Bar every eight hours!"

 

[Yvonne Smith]

Since I grew up with my family having a small grocery store, I have never liked candy bars, or any other kind of candy, really. It was something that was always there, all the time, and I knew I could have a candy bar anytime I wanted one, as long as I had eaten my meal first. So, I really had no interest in any kind of candy.
I liked fresh fruit, and my lunch choice was a little can of “beanie—weenies”, which was regular pork and beans with little wiener chunks in it.

I see nothing wrong with people having any kind of treat they want, and do not think we should be told what we can or can’t eat. But I do think that if a program is supposed to be for nutritional foods, then this is what should be allowed , and not candy or junk food. People can purchase that themselves, if they want junk food, and everyone should have the choice to do that.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

Another program that I think it's creators meant well in it's beginnings, but has been corrupted. Women, Infants and Children, aka WIC. I can't tell you how many times I've people with WIC vouchers in Eureka buying very expensive fresh Crab, Halibut, Salmon and what Cindy always called "Oh My God Tuna" at the Farmer's Market or Co-Op for themselves, and nothing but empty carb foods with essentially no nutritional value for kids. It's shameful.