New York Seeks Ban On Food Stamp Purchases Of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson extended their fight against obesity and unhealthy diet choices by requesting approval from the USDA to bar use of food stamps to buy sugary sodas, sports drinks, sweetened teas, etc. in the city. Bloomberg and Paterson observed that using government money to buy “foods of little or no nutritional value …effectively subsidizes a serious public health epidemic.” New York City’s eight million food stamp recipients – roughly half the population – spend more than $75 million on sugar-sweetened drinks. More than half of the adult population and 40 percent of public primary school students are overweight or obese. The USDA denied earlier requests by Maine and Minnesota for similar restrictions because they were discriminatory against needy consumers.