Food stamps are a last resort for millions of low income families across America who struggle to put food on the table.
So it may come as a surprise that the top purchase made by food stamps is not food at all; it’s soda.
Soda accounts for five percent of every dollar spent in stamps while a whopping 20 percent is spent on junk food that includes ‘sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar’.
The United States Department of Agriculture, which oversees the $74 billion food stamp program SNAP, found that dairy and processed foods were among the top purchases, the New York Times reports.
Ten cents in every dollar were spent on sweetened beverages which also include juices and energy drinks. With an average family on food stamps receiving around $256, that could mean they could buy 50 cans of soda every month.
While healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, beans, eggs, nuts and seeds were lower down on the list.
The report also noted that families on food stamps typically bought more junk food than those paying for groceries themselves. For example, among people not on food stamps, milk was the top purchase, followed by soft drinks in second. Many health experts have pointed to the findings as one of the causes of America's burgeoning obesity crisis. They are now demanding more restrictions on food stamp purchases, so that tax payer dollars are no longer paying for unhealthy food and drinks. David Ludwig, the director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center at Boston Children's Hospital, said that other government programs such as the national school lunch program have strict nutrition standards, so there was no reason they couldn't be implemented for SNAP. 'No one is suggesting poor people can't choose what they want to eat,' he said. 'But we're saying let's not use government benefits to pay for foods that are demonstrably going to undermine public health.' He added that recent evidence had highlighted sugary drinks as one of the most harmful types of unhealthy food, yet soda 'tops the list of reimbursed products in SNAP.' Around 23 million households receive around $256 in food stamps every month. Several states have been fighting to restrict sugary drinks and junk food from food stamps. WHAT ARE FOOD STAMPS SPENT ON BY THE DOLLAR?- 5 cents on soda
- 15 cents on junk food and sweetened drinks excluding soda
- 40 cents of basics such as milk, cheese, and meat
- 40 cents on cereals and other grains such as, rice, beans and prepared foods
