Should Food Stamp Users be Blocked from Buying Junk Food?

Michael Krasny

Dec 3, 2013 at

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The federal food stamp program, known as SNAP, supports one in seven Americans at a cost of around $80 billion each year. With almost 70 percent of adult Americans overweight, some nutrition advocates want to prohibit SNAP recipients from using food stamps to purchase junk food such as soda and chips. Opponents say that such restrictions would unfairly target the poor and limit their food options. We discuss the issue.

More: Major Split Over Buying Junk Food With Federal Aid – SFGate.com
More: SNAP, WIC, EBT — What’s the Difference – WAMU.org
More: Food Stamps: Follow the Money – Are Corporations Profiting from Hungry Americans? – Report by Michele Simon

Guests:

Jessica Bartholow, legislative advocate at the Western Center on Law and Poverty

Carolyn Lochhead, Washington correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle

Michele Simon, public health lawyer, president of the consulting firm Eat, Drink, Politics, and author of "Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back"

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