Food stamps for health or for snacks?

On a recent steamy holiday weekend, customers at a discount grocery store in Evanston, Ill., loaded…

On a recent steamy holiday weekend, customers at a discount grocery store in Evanston, Ill., loaded their carts with bags of chips, boxes of cookies, 2-liter soda bottles and jugs of fruit punch – among other items – then paid for it all with food stamp credit.

Although some may be surprised to see “nutrition assistance” dollars going to buy food with little nutritional value, it’s perfectly legal under federal rules.

Some politicians and health advocates want that to change, saying restricting food stamp purchases to healthier items would encourage better diets, reduce health care costs and make better use of precious tax dollars.

Critics of the idea say such proposals are condescending, probably wouldn’t be effective and would stigmatize aid recipients.

So far, lawmakers in several states, including Illinois, have unsuccessfully pushed bills to make soda, chips and candy ineligible for purchase with food stamps, now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Others have suggested that the program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, could be modified as part of the current farm bill negotiations in Congress.

Supporters say that adding restrictions could divert billions of SNAP dollars from junk food to healthier choices, thus saving billions more in obesity-related health care costs, which are predicted by the government to reach $550 billion by 2030.

But just how many taxpayer dollars go to purchase soda, chips, snack cakes and candy each year? The USDA says it has no idea.

“They don’t keep track of what is purchased,” said Republican state Sen. Ronda Storms of Florida, who introduced a failed bill to restrict junk food purchases. “How then . does the state know whether the purchases are for legal items and not, say, toilet paper, magazines, beer, et cetera? Ask that question and you might hear the crickets chirping.”

One California watchdog group released a report this month suggesting that this lack of transparency covers up what amounts to billions of dollars in corporate welfare to junk food makers and other companies at a time when Congress is contemplating blanket cuts to a program that provides crucial assistance to hungry people…