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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s hard to define legally what’s junk food and what’s healthy. There’s a large grey zone between candy and granola/protein/breakfast bars.  One pending bill tries to define candy as “flourless”, but under that definition, Twix and Kit Kat would be exempt.  Cereal also gets blurry.  Many cereals contain added sugar but also contain healthy ingredients. Do we ban Honey Nut Cheerios?

There isn’t much evidence to suggest SNAP recipients eat any less healthily than other low-income earners.  It’s also hard to restrict foods without further stigmatizing that group.  I’ve gone through periods where money was extremely tight, and being able to have an occasional treat or give my kids a birthday cake was so important psychologically.  There’s a strain of Ayn Rand heartlessness in these policies - the attitude seems to be if you’re poor, you must live only on rice and beans until you’ve bootstrapped yourself into a strata of society that deserves ice cream.

That said, I do agree with reducing harmful food dyes amd additives, looking at alternative pest reduction methods, and encouraging Americans to eat more healthily.  I’m old enough to remember when Michelle Obama wanted everyone to eat more fruits and veggies, and the right wing lost their mind.  This shouldn’t be a partisan issue.[/quote]

Sweetened beverages and soda are the top two items purchased through SNAP.  By definition, that is junk nutrition and evidence of SNAP recipients eating less healthy.

SNAP; it is in the name, is meant to provide sustenance, not treats on the taxpayer's dime. [/quote]

Actually, milk and ground beef are #2 and #3. And the point was that the buying habits of SNAP recipients aren’t substantially different from the buying habits of lower income Americans in general, therefore they aren’t demonstrably less healthy than that population.

If we’re concerned about their health, we should be providing them more assistance so they can buy organic, local, grass fed, and whole grain. Eating healthy isn’t cheap.[/quote]

LOL absolutely not.  Your average middle-class family can't afford what you just proposed, and you want SNAP recipients getting their grass-fed Kobe beef at Whole Foods? GTFOH. [/quote]

Soooo, it’s not about health after all.[/quote]

The average daily SNAP benefit is $6.  It’s challenging to construct 3 palatable meals from that, let alone healthy meals that don’t involve high sodium canned foods, starchy sides, the cheapest cuts of meat, and low quality produce.

I’m not arguing for junk food either, just agreeing with the impracticality of demanding that people on a limited income eat healthier, while secretly thinking they don’t deserve to.[/quote]

Cheap cuts of meat and "low quality produce" are healthy.  As are vegetarian proteins.

There is no need consume high sodium canned foods, when non sodium versions are available. 
Starchy sides are just junk. They don't satisfy hunger. [/quote]

At $6 a day, you’re buying the marked down meat that expires today, and bland  convenience store fruit bred for durability rather than nutrition (you don’t have a car, so much of your shopping is done at whatever’s nearby).  The convenience store does not carry “non sodium” canned goods, but they do have a limited selection of low sodium canned goods that, despite the label, still pack 30-45% of your sodium intake for the day.[/quote]

My friend I invite you to visit an Aldi’s. I’m sure SNAP benefits could be improved, but I can make delicious and nutritious meals for $6. Nobody likes Red Delicious apples and there are much better varieties now that are bred to hold up better in the cold chain. Or you can grab a pineapple and banana (cheap).

the issue with nutrition is not low-quality produce and meat. That is a laughably ahistorical and ignorant point of view. With advances in refrigeration and agricultural technology we have access to an absolute abundance of healthy foods at cost that is historically low (recent inflation notwithstanding).

There IS and issue with nutrition though and it is that working families do not have the time, energy and often skill/cultural knowledge to cook appealing meals. It becomes much easier to grab McDonalds or make a box of Mac & cheese when you have young kids and a FT job. [/quote]

It’s cute that you think there’s an Aldi’s on every street corner, especially in lower income areas.

Sure, with access to a car and unlimited free time you can put together healthy meals on a $6 budget for one day, one week, maybe even a month, but over an entire lifetime of restricted eating, subtle nutritional deficits build up, as well as unhealthy attitudes around food.  It’s absurd to say “make better choices” when so many factors limit the choices available - including, as you noted, working full time and having kids (I’m 100% in agreement there).  There’s a lack of time to research sales and clip coupons and go all over town to find the best bargains, a lack of living space to buy in bulk and store (and again that assumes having a car to get purchases home), limited kitchen space and equipment, lack of energy after working exhausting jobs and different shifts.  It would certainly be worthwhile to equip families with better knowledge and resources to eat healthier, which I’m sure has been tried at some level, but all the other factors need to be addressed too if we’re serious about getting people to eat healthier.[/quote]

Aldi is a low budget grocery store, yes it’s in lower income areas.

To the first pp inviting folks to aldi, I agree with you a thousand percent. There was a thread on here awhile ago about the topic of cooking from scratch that quickly devolved into people crying about how it was impossible, poor people can’t do it blah blah. You and I know it is possible but you can’t be buying soda and other crap. [/quote]

In addition to Aldis, you can also get Amazon Fresh Direct delivered very affordably. I’d be impressed if BrainWorm advocated for a SNAP supplement to pay the $10 for delivery.

I do think cooking from scratch is harder than you say though … one thing I think people who genuinely care about nutrition could advocate is creating incentives and relaxing regulatory burden for small food businesses. Those Salvadoran ladies can make a delicious plate of healthy food for pretty cheap. And I’ve wondered why public housing doesn’t have cafeterias. [/quote]

Oh those are two great ideas, I love that! Did you guys know you can already use snap to pay for gardening supplies?[/quote]

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