A New York State legislator from St. Lawrence County is introducing a bill that would restrict what food stamp recipients could buy with those benefits. The idea is seen by some as an effort to curb abuse. Critics say it's an attack on New York's poor that furthers stereotypes about those on public assistance.
State Senator Patty Ritchie, a Republican who represents the state's 48th District, is introducing a bill that would prohibit recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program support from buying so-called "luxury" food and "junk food" items. While it would be up to the state's Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to draft a list of such items, Ritchie identifies items such as "high-end" steaks, lobster, energy drinks and decorated cakes as items for consideration.
Ritchie explains in a memo included with the bill that her proposal is designed to promote healthier choices by those receiving public assistance.
Critics, however, dismiss the plan as an attack on low-income New Yorkers. Jeremy Saunders, co-executive director of the Brooklyn-based advocacy group Vocal NY, says the bill perpetuates an image of welfare recipients as rampant abusers of the system who instead live lavishly. Saunders also suggested that if Ritchie is truly concerned about making sure low-income New Yorkers are choosing healthier options, she would better serve those people by making access to those foods easier.
"The reality is, people who are living on food stamps do sometimes live in places where they don't have access to a ton of healthy food," Saunders said. "Do they sometimes stretch a dollar by products that the senator may not find healthy? Yeah, they sure do. And why? Because if you didn't have the resources to feed your family, you would opt to do that as well."
Saunders also took exception to the mention of decorated cakes as a possible food item that may become prohibited from purchase by food stamps. He told WBFO that even lower-income families deserve an occasional treat such as a birthday cake for a child or a finer dinner for a special family occasion.
States manage the federal food stamp program's dollars, which are granted by the US Department of Agriculture. Alcohol and tobacco purchases are not allowed through food stamps or EBT cards. Because the program involves federal dollars, WBFO asked Congressman Tom Reed about Ritchie's proposal during his weekly media conference call. While he had not read the proposal at the time, he suggested the idea was worth exploring.
"As we get into potential welfare reform at the end of the year, this is something that could potentially be put on the table," Reed said. "When we talk about food stamps in particular, I think modernizing that program, making sure those resources are efficiently and effectively delivered, I think is only right."
A federal report released in 2013 by the USDA examined differences in food habits between those receiving public assistance and those who do not. That study found few differences overall.
In Buffalo, the executive director of the Coalition for Economic Justice suggested another strategy for addressing perceived food stamp misuse: taking steps to get low-income New Yorkers out of poverty and end their need to rely on food stamps and other public assistance.
"Policing the poor is not the way to go," said the coalition's Reverend Kirk Laubenstein. "People need livable wages, 15 dollars an hour as a minimum wage, in order to be able to support their families and then we won't even be having this conversation."
