(Boise, ID) Amid concerns about a proposed bill to ban coverage for candy and soda by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday voted to hold the bill for two weeks.
House Bill 109, by Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to seek federal approval to exclude candy and soda from foods eligible for SNAP, the program formerly known as food stamps.
Redman told the committee his bill is intended to address the “junk food epidemic in our country.”
“Children on SNAP have substandard diets that are more likely to elevate disease risk than non-participants with similar incomes. They also consume 43% more sugar-sweetened beverages than non-participants of similar income levels,” Redman said.
Another nutritional assistance program for Women, Infants or Children, or WIC, has “tighter nutritional standards,” he said. When his family received food stamp benefits when he was young, Redman said candy and soda were not allowed.
“Taxpayers are currently funding the growing health crisis, with soda ranking as the number one commodity bought through SNAP,” Redman said.
In nearly an hour of public testimony and debate Tuesday, many lawmakers said they agreed with the bill’s intent. But some lawmakers said they agreed with concerns raised by some business industry representatives: that the bill would place onerous burdens on grocery stores to identify foods that would be banned from SNAP coverage, and the bill’s definition of candy was too broad and might even apply to granola and protein bars.
The bill defines candy as “a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of confections, bars, drops or pieces.” The bill excluded from its definition of candy “any item that contains more than” 10% flour “”by weight or requires refrigeration.”
The House Health and Welfare Committee, on a narrow 8-7 vote, held the bill for two weeks in committee.
On narrow votes, the committee rejected motions to stop the bill from advancing this legislative session or to send it to the amending order, when any House lawmaker can propose amendments to the bill.
More than 134,000 Idahoans are enrolled in SNAP, according to figures released in December. On average, an Idahoan on SNAP receives $181 in program benefits monthly, data from Health and Welfare shows.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.