For the second year in a row, a freshman legislator, who is also a medical doctor, has filed a proposal to ban food stamp recipients from buying soda or candy for their children.
Rep. Ralph Massullo, a dermatologist from Lecanto, filed the proposal (HB 47) Friday for the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.
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The proposal would direct the Florida Department of Children and Families to seek approval of a federal “waiver” that would allow the state to ban the use of benefits in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to buy soft drinks.
“I see the trend of obese children in our society, and I think it's important that we provide them nutritional foods,” Massullo said.
But some recipients and retailers think the ban is a bad idea.
Deanna Williams, who joined the SNAP program after she was laid off as a 911 dispatcher, said a proposal to ban the purchase of soft drinks and candy with EBT cards would only make recipients feel worse.
Williams said she agreed that children should eat healthier foods but said that when parents spend more on healthy vegetables, the health gains are lost to lower quality meats and other fillers.
“The worst cuts of meat, the off-brand foods, the foods that are high in fat,” she said.
Nationally, about 6 percent of all electronic benefits purchases go for soda or candy.
It was the Florida Retail Federation’s opposition that killed a similar proposal earlier this year. The group said it's not about sales but consistency.
“We just want it to be consistent across the board for all our members in all our states,” said James Miller with Florida Retail Federation.
Williams said denying poor children a soda is too much “Big Brother.”
“And I don’t think it’s right for anyone to dictate what they’re allowed to eat -- or drink,” Williams said.
But some lawmakers said that depends on who’s paying.
Food stamp recipients are already barred from using their benefits to buy beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco. Non-food purchases such as pet foods and vitamins are also prohibited.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.