HELENA, Mont. -- A proposed bill in Montana would prevent people who receive federal assistance to buy food from using those dollars to purchase energy drinks. But the bill received little backing during a state House Human Services Committee meeting on Jan. 18, according to a report in the Missoulian.
Advocates for grocers, convenience stores, the state food-bank network and the state Department of Public Health and Human Services all spoke in opposition to the bill submitted by Rep. Vince Ricci.
The bill would direct the department to apply for a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prohibit the use of SNAP, or Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, dollars to buy energy drinks such as Red Bull, according to the report.
Ricci said he doesn’t believe energy drinks are nutritious food and that the SNAP program is intended to help people purchase nutritious food.
“I think a healthy drink would be Muscle Milk, fruit juice or vegetable juice,” Ricci said. “My intent is to remove a non-nutritional product from the nutrition program.”
Jamie Palagi, a division administrator at the Department of Public Health and Human Services, said states that have attempted to get federal waivers to prohibit the purchase of soda with SNAP dollars have not been successful.
“Our primary reasons for opposing this bill is it’s inefficient and would be a waste of taxpayer dollars simply because it’s not allowed,” she said.
Others who spoke representing the nonalcohol beverage industry, grocery stores and convenience stores said it would make their jobs more burdensome to have to determine what is not SNAP-eligible and put clerks in the position of having to correct customers on what they can purchase.
Some on the committee pointed out that apple juice can have almost as much sugar as energy drinks and coffee or some teas can have more caffeine.
A USDA report released in November found no major differences in the expenditure patterns of SNAP and non-SNAP households. About 40 cents of every dollar of food expenditures by SNAP households was spent on basic items such as meat, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and bread. Another 20 cents out of every dollar was spent on sweetened beverages, desserts, salty snacks, candy and sugar. The rest is spent on items such as cereal, prepared foods, dairy products, rice and beans, according to the report.
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