Food stamp bills seek to restrict junk food

[Gormy Cuss]

60. Water is nowhere near as filling as soda.

The sad fact is that sugary mix is cheap and satisfying. When I was a kid, some mothers in my neighborhood gave their kids sugar sandwiches (one slice of white bread brushed with margarine and covered with sugar, folded over like a taco.) This was a meal when the larder was nearly empty.

Every time food restriction discussions come up here, I point out that the USDA has for decades struggled with how to steer people to more healthful choices but the one consistent thing the experts have refused to do is restrict food choices, and that's because the overwhelming evidence is that restricting food choices is costly for the retailers, which leads to a lower participation rate and that leaves some recipients with fewer or no local shopping sites for foods.

The USDA has instead worked to make better food choices accessible through vehicles like supplemental allotments valid only at farmers' markets (something that also directly benefits USDA's other clients, the farmers.)