A bill that would forbid Idaho food benefit recipients from using taxpayer dollars to buy candy or soda is getting put on ice for a couple weeks.
House Bill 109 defines soda as any nonalcoholic beverage that has artificial or natural sweeteners, excluding milk, dairy substitutes and juice made from more than 50% fruit and/or vegetables.
Candy includes any “preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings.” Items containing more than 10% flour by weight or those needing refrigeration would be exempt.
Rep. Jordan Redman (R-Coeur d’Alene) said SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, shouldn’t allow enrollees to buy sugary treats that have propelled an obesity epidemic in the U.S.
“The purpose of SNAP is to provide a more nutritious diet for low-income households,” said Redman. “In particular, Congress sought to alleviate hunger and malnutrition, but the program has departed from the original intention and purpose.”
Redman said his family benefited from the SNAP program while he was growing up, but that his mother used her personal money to buy him and his siblings treats.
Lawmakers on the House Health and Welfare Committee Tuesday largely agreed with the bill’s concept, but widely diverged on its details.
Rep. Lucas Cayler (R-Caldwell) ultimately pushed to hold the bill in committee for two weeks while lawmakers hash out the details.
“If I were writing I would’ve included a whole lot more with regard to what kind of foods should we be regulating that are incredibly unhealthy,” Cayler said.
House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel (D-Boise) worried the bill’s definitions could encompass protein bars and similar foods that aren’t unhealthy.
Public testimony largely included lobbyists for retail stores and grocers who testified against the measure. They said it would be too complicated to implement and would limit customers’ freedom of choice.
Dawn Pierce, a board member for the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force, also asked that the bill be killed for the session. Pierce said SNAP recipients aren’t responsible for America’s obesity epidemic.
“That is a misleading and harmful overreach and further demonizes the least and the last of our neighbors,” Pierce said.
Creating these new limitations on the SNAP program would require permission from the federal government – something it’s repeatedly denied to other states in the past.
Committee members will regroup on the issue in late-February.
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