Should People Be Able to Buy Soda With Food Stamps?

Health-conscious New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has show an impressive history in trying to improve the city's health and well-being, with initiatives like calorie labeling on chain restaurants. The latest campaign out of the Big Apple is Bloomberg's strong push to bar soda and other sugary drinks from being purchased with state funds by all 1.7 million of New York City's food stamp recipients.

Is this idea part of the solution to combat obesity or is it another way the government is taking too much control and stigmatizing the poor? For example, the New York City Department of Health has no plans to ban soda machines in their own buildings, according to an interview on NPR. Before you decide, here are some statistics you might want to consider:

• One-in-eight New Yorkers has diabetes, and low-income New York residents are nearly twice as likely as other New Yorkers to suffer from diabetes.
• Nearly 40 percent of public-school children in kindergarten through eighth grade are overweight or obese.
• Poor neighborhoods consistently showed higher consumption of sugared beverages.
• Purchase of sodas and sugary drinks cost New Yorkers $75 million to $135 million of the $2.7 billion in food stamps they received in 2009.

Do these statistics further your support of Bloomberg's efforts or do you think this potential new law won't help? Find out what our readers thought.

Susan R.
I think they should ban soda chips candy all junk food.... if they want it let anyone on food stamps buy it with their "own" money. I think anyone on food stamps should only be able to purchase healthy food, just like WIC. It is a program for healthy food. I know people say you shouldn't be telling people what they can buy but we already do with the cigs and booze so why not add no junk food? You don't need junk food to live.....

Mari L.
Just like telling a child "you can't," they will find a way around the system. I agree with Susan above, regulate the food stamps to ONLY BUY FOOD. They are being accepted everywhere in NYC and not just for food. Also we have to educate young parents about healthy choices for their children so they can make smart decisions. Regulate the grocery stores to have a wider selection of healthy snacks and not two racks of chips.

John W.
The idea of banning soda and junk food has merit with the food stamp program; after all, if you're on food stamps you're probably on government health care programs too. However, the independent conservative in me says if we're going to have a government run a program like this, rather than say "no" to certain foods, require nutrition education classes before awarding food stamps. Require additional classes once every six months. And monitor purchases; after the nutrition classes if it's discovered junk food has been bought, require a reduction in benefits equal to the amount spent on junk food.

Lori W.
Ooh, this is a hard one for me. I don't like the idea of big government telling anyone what they can and cannot consume but I understand the idea of wanting to help people make good choices. Maybe a nutrition classes is a good idea. I don't like them being used for non-food items though, that would be a good restriction for sure.

Suzanne B.
The danger with a sweeping bill like this, is that is hurts the people that need the help the most. As a 53yo female that had emergency brain surgery in June and now receiving chemo and radiation treatments, often the only nutritional item I can keep down are protein shakes which contain sugar. I also have steroid induced diabetes and the shakes work as a snack for me when taking insulin, another life threatening condition. I don't receive much money from food stamps and a small welfare supplemental income until disability starts, months away due to the economy. If nutritional food items could be differentiated from sugary junk food I would agree with the bill but that doesn't seem to be how the govt works. Many don't realize toilet paper isn't considered a necessity and food stamps won't cover the expense, diapers aren't covered either I'm sure they are lumped in with the thought process that 'paper products' aren't a necessity.

Anne L.
Here's a thought: instead of banning sodas/junk food, which is a response to the stereotype of the food stamp recipient with the cart full of junk food, why doesn't Mayor Bloomberg encourage bringing decent grocery stores into poor neighborhoods? I don't know about New York City, but I know that where I live, there are neighborhoods that are miles away from grocery stores. Oh, there might be a very expensive mom and pop here and there, and of course liquor stores, but not a place to buy nourishing food at reasonable prices. There are food justice groups working in my region, and as a result, there's everything from cities giving tax breaks and other support to stores opening in poor neighborhoods to free garden space in vacant lots (okay, probably won't work in NYC) to farmer's markets run by food justice co-ops. And lo and behold, there are less people buying junk, because the good food is accessible and affordable.

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