Our View

Our View

Restricting junk food purchases for EBT users

We’ve all heard about how presidential spouses use their clout as first lady to create initiatives that focus on childhood nutrition as well as childhood obesity.

Take. For example. Michelle Obama who, throughout her time in the White house, has backed initiatives and the laws that focused on childhood obesity.

Because of her involvement she is directly credited with a federal law that increased funding for school lunch programs, setting nutrition standards and calling attention to just how much salt, fat, sodium and sugar were in school lunches.

By the same token, there have been efforts by politicians to hone in on reforming government subsidies and their deficiencies related to public health issues, such as a current proposal being presented to Arkansas lawmakers that will prevent food-stamp recipients from making unhealthy choices at the grocery store.

It was interesting to learn that while members of the Arkansas House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted 12-6 to advance House Bill 1035, which would make Arkansas the first state to restrict food-stamp purchases of junk food that food banks and retail grocers voiced their strong objection to the Healthy Food Improvement Act.

Naturally, because this Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, is a federal program authorization would have to come from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which under President Donald Trump’s administration is likely possible, although it has never before granted such a request by states.

Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, sponsor of this measure, says the time is right for Arkansas — whose residents are cited as among the most obese in the country — to “pioneer” changes to the food stamp program.

Admittedly, this is a noble idea but one that is framed in idealism and realistically have little impact on preventing the nearly 400,000 Arkansans receiving food stamp assistance from purchasing their favorite candy bar, ice cream or any other food classified as unhealthy. In many cases such proposed legislation politicians hinge their sales pitch on the state saving on covering obesity-related medical costs through the government subsidy called Medicaid.

It was interesting to learn that Arkansans received $1.25 billion in treatment attributable to obesity every year, 40 percent of which is paid through Medicaid.

Admittedly, what Rep. Bentley is attempting to do is an excellent way to better regulate this government subsidy, but sadly many of these nearly 400,000 Arkansans benefiting from food stamps have disposable currency to purchase “junk food”, cigarettes, beer, drugs and hard liquor.

Furthermore, many food stamp recipients are experienced in ways to use their tax-free food stamp card to get cash. One popular method is for a food stamp recipient to sell a portion or all of the card’s value for cash. Let’s say there is a $100 value on a particular EBT card. The recipient agrees to sell $75 of that $100 card for $50, goes to the grocery store with the buyer, purchases $75 worth of food and the buyer then hands over $50 in cash.

The reality is Rep. Bentley certainly has good intentions, but the fact is we believe it will have very little impact on addressing obesity issues that can only be successfully addressed by parents, responsible family members or community leaders.