Gov. Kim Reynolds has released a diet plan for about 24,000 Iowa kids next summer. It’s the no-EBT-cards-for-you diet. It’s for their own good.
No, I don’t think Reynolds is trying to starve kids. But it was a lousy decision to turn down $29 million in federal summer food assistance for kids in low-income households. Each eligible child would have received an EBT card worth $40 monthly. The state would pay a $2.2 million share of administrative costs.
But the governor argued such assistance isn’t “sustainable.” But only if Congress votes to scrap it. She also complained the EBT cards` would do “nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
Reynolds wants to enhance existing anti-hunger programs. But she offered no details. But the governor is certain poor people will just blow federal summer food assistance on junk food.
It’s true, recipients of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, buy plenty of soda and other sweetened drinks. A USDA report released in 2017 on the buying habits of SNAP and non-SNAP shoppers found soda was the No. 1 item purchased by low-income households. It accounted for 5 percent of purchases. Overall, they spent 9.3% of benefits on sweetened drinks.
But non-SNAP consumers spent 7.1% on sugary drinks. SNAP households bought slightly more junk food than non-recipients, but their buying patterns were very similar. Obesity is not only a problem for the poor.
Should federal dollars be spent on unhealthy drinks? A strong case can be made to cut off the soda stream. But instead of blaming low-income families, maybe the governor could place blame where it belongs, with beverage corporations that have lobbied hard against such restrictions while marketing sugar water as “sports drinks” enhancing athletic performance.
Also, tens of millions of bushels of Iowa corn go into high fructose corn syrup, which sweetens some of these beverages. I doubt the governor will bring that up.
A survey of studies by the Food Resource and Action Center found evidence that food insecurity actually leads to obesity. People with low-incomes and a lack of transportation often are left to buy food at convenience stores or other nearby sources that offer few healthy choices. Denying them additional help is not going to reduce obesity. It could make the problem worse.
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And Reynolds’ obesity argument would be more compelling if Iowa wasn’t once again joining a parade of red states turning down federal aid. Her sudden concern sounds more like an excuse to check another box on her conservative to-do list.
There’s also the fact that Reynolds signed legislation last year creating a new bureaucracy of eligibility checks and asset tests that make it harder for Iowans to receive and keep SNAP assistance and Medicaid health coverage.
Turning down federal food help fits a pattern. The governor has turned down tens of millions of dollars in federal help addressing COVID testing in schools during the pandemic, climate change preparedness, affordable housing and child care. So her food aid refusal seems to be more about slapping the president than helping Iowans.
Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, offered a bill last session to expand free school lunches, which are subject to nutrition rules. He had 20 Republican co-sponsors, giving the bill enough support for passage. Republican leaders didn’t bring it up for a vote.
So the tough love keeps on coming. The governor loves making life tougher for low-income families.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
No, I don’t think Reynolds is trying to starve kids. But it was a lousy decision to turn down $29 million in federal summer food assistance for kids in low-income households. Each eligible child would have received an EBT card worth $40 monthly. The state would pay a $2.2 million share of administrative costs.
But the governor argued such assistance isn’t “sustainable.” But only if Congress votes to scrap it. She also complained the EBT cards` would do “nothing to promote nutrition at a time when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.”
Reynolds wants to enhance existing anti-hunger programs. But she offered no details. But the governor is certain poor people will just blow federal summer food assistance on junk food.
It’s true, recipients of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, buy plenty of soda and other sweetened drinks. A USDA report released in 2017 on the buying habits of SNAP and non-SNAP shoppers found soda was the No. 1 item purchased by low-income households. It accounted for 5 percent of purchases. Overall, they spent 9.3% of benefits on sweetened drinks.
But non-SNAP consumers spent 7.1% on sugary drinks. SNAP households bought slightly more junk food than non-recipients, but their buying patterns were very similar. Obesity is not only a problem for the poor.
Should federal dollars be spent on unhealthy drinks? A strong case can be made to cut off the soda stream. But instead of blaming low-income families, maybe the governor could place blame where it belongs, with beverage corporations that have lobbied hard against such restrictions while marketing sugar water as “sports drinks” enhancing athletic performance.
Also, tens of millions of bushels of Iowa corn go into high fructose corn syrup, which sweetens some of these beverages. I doubt the governor will bring that up.
A survey of studies by the Food Resource and Action Center found evidence that food insecurity actually leads to obesity. People with low-incomes and a lack of transportation often are left to buy food at convenience stores or other nearby sources that offer few healthy choices. Denying them additional help is not going to reduce obesity. It could make the problem worse.
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And Reynolds’ obesity argument would be more compelling if Iowa wasn’t once again joining a parade of red states turning down federal aid. Her sudden concern sounds more like an excuse to check another box on her conservative to-do list.
There’s also the fact that Reynolds signed legislation last year creating a new bureaucracy of eligibility checks and asset tests that make it harder for Iowans to receive and keep SNAP assistance and Medicaid health coverage.
Turning down federal food help fits a pattern. The governor has turned down tens of millions of dollars in federal help addressing COVID testing in schools during the pandemic, climate change preparedness, affordable housing and child care. So her food aid refusal seems to be more about slapping the president than helping Iowans.
Rep. Sami Scheetz, D-Cedar Rapids, offered a bill last session to expand free school lunches, which are subject to nutrition rules. He had 20 Republican co-sponsors, giving the bill enough support for passage. Republican leaders didn’t bring it up for a vote.
So the tough love keeps on coming. The governor loves making life tougher for low-income families.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Reynolds loves making it tougher for struggling Iowans
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks to hospital staff and members of the community about the need to keep PA’s in Iowa …
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