Officials are looking to eliminate sugary drinks from the grocery lists of some lower income New Yorkers.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson are expected to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture later today to include beverages such as sugar-sweetened sodas on the list of items shoppers are not allowed to buy with Food Stamps.
Health officials say they hope the move will help them combat the epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes among New Yorkers.
In an New York Times op-ed article today, New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley says food stamps for soda amounts to an “enormous subsidy to the sweetened beverage industry.”
He says, “Medical researchers have increasingly associated the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages with weight gain and the development of diabetes,” and says that illnesses related to obesity costs the state $8 billion in medical costs every year.
According to data released by the city, more than 40 percent of all city public school kids are obese or overweight, which could lead to serious health problems in the future.
In Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn, where food stamps are in common use, locals said that restricting sugar drinks would be a step too far.
“They’re not going to listen to you. They’re not,” said one resident. “They know it’s no good for them, but they’re still eating it.”
“It’s a little bit too much, depending. What they need to eat, stuff like that, it’s really up to them. That’s the way I feel,” said another. “Maybe [the government] needs to send out some pamphlets and stuff to read up on the health issue.”
The moves comes on the heels of a major Health Department ad campaign detailing the heath risks of soft drinks and other beverages.
According to health officials, a 20-ounce soda contains the equivalent of 26 packs of sugar.
By including sugary beverages on the list of banned items like alcohol and cigarettes, health officials say families will be able to use their Food Stamp benefits to buy healthier items.
About 1.7 million food stamp recipients live in the city.
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(Source: NY1)
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3 Responses
Food Stamps should never have allowed sugary drinks to begin with, Food Stamps should be limited to foods necessary for hand well being and soda and other soft drinks do not contribute to health. Why should taxpayers, whose tax dollars go to the food stamp program, pay to promote ill health which will cause their tax dollars to pay for medical care for those on food stamps who also probably get health benefits as well from the gov’t? Food Stamps should be more like the WIC program, only allowing specific food items and not luxury items like junk food which aren’t necessary for health.
I heard Glenn Beck on the radio this morning making a few very good points. Among them…
1) Disallowing sugary drinks will force every grocery store cashier to become the Food Police. They will have to tell customers checking out “Sorry, you can’t use your food stamps for the Coke!”
2) The very people who LOVE being on the incoming end of government hand-outs like food stamps, will now complain about being told WHAT they can and can’t buy with them! They will NOT be happy with the idea that “as long as you’re eating with government money, you eat what the government says!”
This is a step in the right direction, but I think that it would also help if these luxury, bad-for-health items were taxed like cigarettes. This will probably drive consumers away from them.