Take soda out of food stamp elgibility?

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture to exclude sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas and sports drinks from food stamp eligibility, because of their effects on obesity. Under the New York proposal, city food stamp recipients would not be able to buy soda using food stamps for two years.

?This initiative will give New York families more money to spend on foods and drinks that provide real nourishment,? Bloomberg said in a press release.

The Big Apple has been the vanguard in many health initiatives ? banning trans fats in restaurants, proposing the end of smoking in outdoor public areas and requiring calorie counts on the menu. The Chart: New York tries to ban outdoor smoking

The city also released this graphic that showed how neighborhoods that had the most food stamp recipients reported that 32 to 45 percent of the residents drank more than one sugar-sweetened beverage a day and experienced higher obesity rates. New York?s poorest households had 30 percent obesity compared with the wealthiest at 17 percent. This trend also reflected in the rate of type 2 diabetes, which was higher in poor residents (14 percent) compared with the wealthiest at 7 percent.

?The use of Food Stamp benefits to support the purchase of sugar sweetened drinks not only contradicts the intent of this vital program, but it also subsidizes a serious public health epidemic,? said Paterson in a statement.

?There is clear evidence that low-income individuals have higher rates of obesity and are more at risk of becoming obese than other groups. The serious chronic illnesses related to obesity ? diabetes, cancer and heart disease ? take a toll on our family, friends and neighbors, but also carry a cost that we all bear, as nearly half of the $147 billion spent nationally on treatment per year is paid by Medicaid and Medicare.?

Obesity-related illness leads to nearly $8 billion in medical costs annually for New York state residents, according to the press release.

The USDA runs the food stamp program, known as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. New York authorities say they seek to align the food stamps with USDA?s rules for the national school lunch program and the Women, Infants and Children program which does not allow for the purchase of sugary drinks. WIC provides foods and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and mothers to children under the age of five.

Dr. Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University said excluding soda from food stamps program would not unfairly target the poor.

"Using government funds to pay for things that so clearly contribute to ill health does not make sense, particularly when government agencies, including the USDA, are struggling to address the nation?s obesity problem.?

NY officials: Take soda out of food stamp program – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Take sodas and candy both out of the food stamp eligibility program.

Virginia should reconsider it too.

Considering the VA program has been renamed "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" they should take out the crap that has no nutrition. That doesn't mean they can't buy it, they just can't buy it as "Supplemental Nutrition" on taxpayer dime.

It's not discrimination. WIC is a form of state assistance and it already restricts purchases - it's extremely specific as to what you can buy and how much of it.

I remember people buying beer with Food Stamps.

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Originally Posted by imported_elp6n

virginia should reconsider it too.

Considering the va program has been renamed "supplemental nutrition assistance program" they should take out the crap that has no nutrition. That doesn't mean they can't buy it, they just can't buy it as "supplemental nutrition" on taxpayer dime.

It's not discrimination. Wic is a form of state assistance and it already restricts purchases - it's extremely specific as to what you can buy and how much of it.

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everything you said backed 100%

i have no problems with this at all, if they get it from the government then they have to deal with how the government decides.


but NY is trying to ban smoking outdoors? WTF? where do they expect smokers to go?
i know people dont like smokers on the whole, but do you really see how nuts that is? that is scary. when they start restricting freedoms outside, then we are all in trouble

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Originally Posted by Biggin

i have no problems with this at all, if they get it from the government then they have to deal with how the government decides.


but NY is trying to ban smoking outdoors? WTF? where do they expect smokers to go?
i know people dont like smokers on the whole, but do you really see how nuts that is? that is scary. when they start restricting freedoms outside, then we are all in trouble

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Smoking indoors is quite dangerous

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Originally Posted by collegetrumpet2010

Smoking indoors is quite dangerous

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reread what hearl wrote

There's an argument for and against this. The nutrition issue aside, you have people, up here especially, that take food stamps and buy nothing but cases of pop. I've been in Wal Mart and the local grocery stores on the first of the month and see people with shopping carts full of nothing but pop....you tell me somebody can drink that much in a month? It's no secret that these people trade the pop for drugs, which is about as lowlife as you can get.

On the other hand, this just seems to me like another way government is trying to inch their way to more and more control over peoples' lives....telling you what to eat, drink....somewhere down the road I would not be suprised if a legislator would try to introduce a bill that would tax the air we breathe....all in the guise of trying to clean the air. I've had to be on food stamps before inbetween jobs. I pay my taxes into that program and I feel if I want to buy porterhouse steaks with food stamps, that's my right.

Banning pop purchases on food stamps is the first step. I've heard talk before of taxing pop straight out. George Orwell's 1984 is beginning to look like not that far of a stretch.

Go to Jenkins at the first of the month. The amount of red bull sold there is unbelievable. Needs to be looked at everywhere. You can get a pound of pinto beens for under a dollar.

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Originally Posted by Rocky

reread what hearl wrote

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I am aware of what he wrote. I was agreeing with him. I was adding something about smoking indoors while he discussed someone banning smoking outdoors. I'd rather have someone do it outdoors than in.

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Originally Posted by MikeJones

Go to Jenkins at the first of the month. The amount of red bull sold there is unbelievable. Needs to be looked at everywhere. You can get a pound of pinto beens for under a dollar.

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Was like that around here for awhile but someone stopped that finally

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Originally Posted by MikMo

There's an argument for and against this. The nutrition issue aside, you have people, up here especially, that take food stamps and buy nothing but cases of pop. I've been in Wal Mart and the local grocery stores on the first of the month and see people with shopping carts full of nothing but pop....you tell me somebody can drink that much in a month? It's no secret that these people trade the pop for drugs, which is about as lowlife as you can get.

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my wife and I make pretty good money and we buy our pop in bulk when it goes on sale, i dont think ive ever traded it for drugs either. Dont judge a book by its cover, there is a REASON that pop goes on sale at the first of the month, these grocery store owners arent stupid.

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Originally Posted by Rocky

my wife and I make pretty good money and we buy our pop in bulk when it goes on sale, i dont think ive ever traded it for drugs either. Dont judge a book by its cover, there is a REASON that pop goes on sale at the first of the month, these grocery store owners arent stupid.

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Dont get offended because you buy in bulk.

You dont have to judge a book by its cover. All you have to do is wait for them to pull out that certain EBT card to pay for those cases of cokes. Many people that buy nothing but two carts full of sodas on the first of the month are using food stamps to do so. I saw it when I was a cashier many years ago and I see it now.

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Originally Posted by imported_elp6n

Dont get offended because you buy in bulk.

You dont have to judge a book by its cover. All you have to do is wait for them to pull out that certain EBT card to pay for those cases of cokes. Many people that buy nothing but two carts full of sodas on the first of the month are using food stamps to do so. I saw it when I was a cashier many years ago and I see it now.

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was simply saying that not everyone that buys their drinks in bulk are selling them for drugs

But come on, one or two shopping carts full and buying on food stamps? I drink a lot of pop but could never down that much in a month. You got to call a spade a spade.

I was at Target in Kingsport a couple weeks ago and they had Coke products on sale. My wife and I bought probably 20 twelve packs and used good old green leaves to buy them. I see what both sides are saying. The ones that use the EBT cards are probably buying for other reasons, but the ones who use money are stocking up on a good deal; otherwise, why use money to buy pop to trade for drugs when you could just use the money.

food stamps dont specifically come on the first of the month.
they are also based on household size and income.

Why do you think Wal Mart has a sign up on their 24 packs of pop: "Limit 6 only please"....they're not stupid. And actually in other retail chains, it's usually the in house store brand that goes on sale at the first of the month. Coke products (24 pack) usually run around 6.98 at Wal Mart. The only price reduction I see from them is 7-Up, which they usually take a dollar off 12 packs every now and then.

Do people actually by drugs with coke products?

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Originally Posted by Jason

Do people actually by drugs with coke products?

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yep. and cigarettes i used to hear about it alot and actually see it happen

trading coke for drugs just doesn't sound right.
(think about it)
Seriously, WTF? Why would a drug seller deal for 6-packs? Is he just too lazy to take the cash and go to the store? I don't get it.
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Isn't milk fattening? Why not make it so food stamps can't be used for "regular" soda or whole milk, but is OK for diet pop and 2% milk? Or is diet pop just as bad?

As I understand it, the folks that are doing this generally sell the sodas and use the cash for whatever it is they really want (cigarettes, alcohol ....)
Sodas are cheap, they sell easy, practically everyone drinks them.

Is there an advantage? Is it a different class crime if money is not used, but goods are? I just see it as being more work for the dealers, plus they're committing another crime if they don't charge and report sales tax, so that's another arm of the law they could run afoul with. Just doesn't make sense to me to create more work and possibly more hassle without some advantage somewhere.

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Originally Posted by VHSLhelper

Is there an advantage? Is it a different class crime if money is not used, but goods are? I just see it as being more work for the dealers, plus they're committing another crime if they don't charge and report sales tax, so that's another arm of the law they could run afoul with. Just doesn't make sense to me to create more work and possibly more hassle without some advantage somewhere.

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It's just another way to get cash from your food stamps instead of using the benefits for their intended purpose. Sell the goods you bought legally with your food stamp benefits. It's not necessarily food stamp fraud but it is food stamp abuse. If you gave your card to someone to use instead (skirting the need to sell what you bought) then that's food stamp fraud.

If some folks put as much effort into earning an honest living as they do trying to defraud the system of welfare benefits they'd be wealthy...

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Originally Posted by imported_elp6n

It's just another way to get cash from your food stamps instead of using the benefits for their intended purpose. Sell the goods you bought legally with your food stamp benefits. It's not necessarily food stamp fraud but it is food stamp abuse. If you gave your card to someone to use instead (skirting the need to sell what you bought) then that's food stamp fraud.

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no, thats fraud.

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Originally Posted by VHSLhelper

Is there an advantage? Is it a different class crime if money is not used, but goods are? I just see it as being more work for the dealers, plus they're committing another crime if they don't charge and report sales tax, so that's another arm of the law they could run afoul with. Just doesn't make sense to me to create more work and possibly more hassle without some advantage somewhere.

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not everyone that sales drugs/trades drugs is a full time drug dealer. there are a lot of people that just trade the **** off for whatever they can get.

yeah, man, can I hold a Washington?
No?
Want a Pepsi, man?