OPINION:
Restricting certain foods and beverages from the SNAP program, as Maine Gov. Paul LePage suggests, would only increase government bureaucracy without saving tax dollars (“LePage still wants to ban junk food from food stamp program,” Web, Dec. 15).
There are more than 650,000 products in the grocery store, and 12,000 new ones are introduced each year. These items would have to be analyzed and categorized to determine what’s in and out of the SNAP program, giving the government the power to decide which foods are “good” and which are “bad.” This kind of control over what Americans buy won’t save the SNAP program any money. Instead it will create a food code more complicated than the tax code.
Policymakers should consider that more than 70 percent of SNAP benefits go to families with children, and 1.7 million beneficiaries are veterans. Studies show there is almost no difference between the food purchases of families receiving SNAP benefits and families who don’t.
America’s beverage companies are investing in efforts to meaningfully address complex health challenges, such as obesity, via our Balance Calories Initiative. We are driving a reduction in the sugar and calories consumed from beverages across America.
Rather than banning families who have fallen on hard times from certain aisles in the grocery store, efforts would be better spent focusing on how to help these families.
ELLEN VALENTINO
Executive vice president
Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Beverage Association
Annapolis
Please read our comment policy before commenting.