Ban on use of SNAP benefits for candy, soda debated by Missouri lawmakers

Low-income Missourians who receive food assistance would be prohibited from buying soda and candy with their benefits under a bill debated Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jamie Gragg, a Republican from Ozark, would restrict food purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously called food stamps, if approved by the federal government.

The bill would “get us back to where the original program was meant to go,” Gragg argued Tuesday afternoon during a hearing of the House Committee on Government Efficiency. “The program’s been bastardized.” 

The purpose of the SNAP program is to help low-income families supplement their grocery budgets to afford nutritious food. As of last month, more than 320,000 households in Missouri received SNAP benefits, loaded onto electronic benefits transfer cards used to purchase groceries. The average value of benefits per household was $396. 

Proponents argue that taxpayer dollars, through the SNAP program, shouldn’t subsidize unhealthy food and beverages, which worsen people’s health. 

Opponents called the proposal government overreach — limiting low-income families’ freedom to choose their food — and overly broad, potentially banning SNAP access for things such as granola bars and electrolyte drinks.

State Rep. Jim Murphy, a Republican from St. Louis, asked whether “any pre-process food could be deemed unhealthy” and added to the list of banned purchases.

“Do we want to be the nanny state that says, ‘You can eat this and you can’t eat that?’” Murphy said. “Where does that end?” 

Rep. Darin Chappell, a Republican from Rogersville, said the list of unhealthy foods could keep growing. 

“My concern is we can add to this list ad infinitum,” Chappell said. “The United Nations tells us that red meat is a carcinogen …at what point do we stop micromanaging this list?” 

Similar bills have been proposed in other states, including Arizona, West Virginia, Idaho and Kansas. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., health and human services secretary, has said he supports restricting SNAP for junk food, and the agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, has signaled interest. 

The conservative national think tank Foundation for Government Accountability has helped push for the change. 

“Food stamps have fueled the junk food epidemic, with soda ranking as the No. 1 commodity bought with food stamps,” Gragg told the committee — a direct quote from a report published by the Foundation for Government Accountability earlier this year.

James Harris, a lobbyist for the Foundation for Government Accountability, called the bill common sense.

“If this were to pass and it helps one child have a little more milk or something of actual nutrition in their home, that’s great,” Harris testified. “… This just would allow Missouri to hopefully help some children have access to more nutritional food, besides maybe what they get at school.”

Those testifying in opposition included the progressive anti-poverty not-for-profit Empower Missouri, along with industry groups such as the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Missouri Grocers Association and the Missouri Beverage Association. 

Nationally, beverage groups have been lobbying to keep sodas in the program, the Wall Street Journal reported late last year.

A 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, found that the households that rely on the program have similar spending patterns to non-SNAP households. For both SNAP and non-SNAP households, the report stated, “more money was spent on soft drinks than any other item.” SNAP households spent 5% of their grocery budget on soft drinks, and non-SNAP households spent 4%. The percent spent on candy, 2%, was the same between both groups.

The bill defines candy as a food product “containing sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruit, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the forms of bars, drops, or pieces.”

It defines a soft drink as “nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners” but does not contain milk or milk substitutes or beverages that are more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice by volume. 

The definition would prevent the purchase of Powerade with SNAP funds, but allow sugary bottled coffee drinks with milk, said Katie Gamble, a lobbyist for Missouri Beverage Association. 

State Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, a Republican from Savannah, said it seems that granola bars would fall under the candy definition, “and I always thought they were supposed to be healthy.” 

Christine Woody, director of food policy for Empower Missouri, said individuals could cross the border into neighboring states and spend their SNAP dollars on banned items there. 

She added that a better strategy would be to encourage the purchase of healthy food, by “really investing in some of the programs that are successful.” Woody pointed to two programs that offer incentives to purchase fruits and vegetables, the Double Up Food Bucks program and the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program.

Those opposed said any changes should be federally decided, rather than having each state determine what is healthy or not.

Missouri would submit a waiver to the federal government requesting this change, if the bill is passed, but there’s no guarantee it’d be approved. States’ previous attempts to limit SNAP purchases in this way have been rejected by the federal government, including because of being complex to implement, having vague standards of what is defined as healthy, and failing to show they would reduce obesity. 

No action was taken on the bill Tuesday.

Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a not-for-profit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com.