Arkansas is moving forward with its plan to ban government food aid from being used to buy candy and soda, despite a recent federal court ruling that similar restrictions in other states violated federal law.
Background
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the plan, citing an urgent need to combat a “chronic disease epidemic” in America, including high rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides a monthly stipend for low-income families to buy groceries.
Lawmakers at the state and federal level have long debated which foods should be eligible for purchase with SNAP. Currently, benefits cannot be used to buy hot prepared foods, but a bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would allow SNAP to be used to buy rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
Implementation
Grocery stores are responsible for enforcing the SNAP restrictions. The state has created an app for SNAP beneficiaries to use that will help them determine which items are eligible for purchase and which aren’t.
Original reporting: KTSA News/Talk (San Antonio) — read the source article.
