When We Put Money Where Mouths Are, What Do People Eat?

The principal aim of the SNAP program, formerly “food stamps,” is important and simple: to ensure that poor people struggling with food insecurity have enough to eat. The program has always been of great public health importance, but in the aftermath of the great recession, more than one in seven American families found themselves on the SNAP rolls. Enrollment has recently declined, due likely to improving economic conditions. This shows the system works as intended, helping those who truly need it. But even simple ideas can run into complications. SNAP funds cannot be used for tobacco or alcohol. This makes intuitive sense, since these are not necessary to alleviate the food insecurity SNAP is intended to combat. But it raises a question on a slippery slope: should SNAP funds be used for anything that does more to promote ill health than good? When that question is asked, sugar-sweetened beverages, a.k.a. sodas, come immediately to mind. They are of no nutritional value, and decisively implicated in obesity, diabetes, and other maladies. Some argue that SNAP funds, which come from taxpayers, should not be used for items like soda that are unnecessary (water is a perfectly adequate, preferable, environmentally friendlier, and less expensive answer to thirst); harmful; and associated with additional costs.  What additional costs?  Well, I have frequently lamented that despite its good intentions, SNAP uses some $80 ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news