Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

In It to Win It

(8,139 posts)
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:37 PM Jan 2023

Iowa Republicans want to ban SNAP recipients from buying meat, white bread, and American cheese

https://www.yahoo.com/news/iowa-republicans-want-ban-snap-173613972.html


Iowa Republicans are proposing sweeping changes to the state's food assistance program — including banning beneficiaries from buying grocery staples like meat, American cheese, or flour.

A bill co-sponsored by 39 Republican state legislators would limit those getting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to buying food on a more restrictive list from a separate program intended for pregnant women and children.

SNAP recipients wouldn't be able to buy a variety of foods, including white grain bread, buns with added nuts or seeds, white rice, pasta sauce, canned fruits or soups, baked beans, cheese slices, butter, or flour.

They would instead be limited to foods approved for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

The foods people can purchase in the WIC program are much more restrictive than those allowed in SNAP. That's because WIC is designed to complement SNAP, and is meant to provide necessary nutrition specifically for — as the name suggests — pregnant women, new mothers, and infants, according to Michelle Book, the president and CEO of Food Bank of Iowa.
28 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Iowa Republicans want to ban SNAP recipients from buying meat, white bread, and American cheese (Original Post) In It to Win It Jan 2023 OP
They would eliminate both programs altogether if they could. LakeArenal Jan 2023 #1
How f-ing sick are these pieces of shite? Marcus IM Jan 2023 #2
White bread is the worst bread to consume. jimfields33 Jan 2023 #4
yes.. markie Jan 2023 #9
Oh yeah. Health is not the reason. I wish it were though. jimfields33 Jan 2023 #12
Maybe the SNAP recipients should shop Whole Foods. Marcus IM Jan 2023 #17
or Bristol Farms? (equally pricey supermarket in South Calif) BlueWaveNeverEnd Jan 2023 #26
Cheese isn't awful for triglycerides, refined carbs are. At moonscape Jan 2023 #20
This is in IOWA? White-bread capital of the world? viva la Jan 2023 #3
Holy cow. 200? Florida, a family of four gets 695 a month. jimfields33 Jan 2023 #5
Less in my state, but yes, you're right, more than $200 viva la Jan 2023 #14
The deep state profits from Big Sesame. n/t Marcus IM Jan 2023 #18
For WIC, the seed prohibition might be to avoid allergies. nt NutmegYankee Jan 2023 #21
So... markie Jan 2023 #6
Canned fruits and vegetables are often the only veggies you can find in a food desert- viva la Jan 2023 #15
WIC is supposed to supplement SNAP, not replace it. Also, govt food programs SUPPORT FARMERS Hekate Jan 2023 #16
Granted some of those foods are not the healthiest Diamond_Dog Jan 2023 #7
And I wonder how many SNAP recipients live in food deserts? tanyev Jan 2023 #25
Let me guess... FalloutShelter Jan 2023 #8
A BIG FUCK YOU to local Iowa Meat and Dairy farmers. Canned Meats & Beans from out of state too. TheBlackAdder Jan 2023 #10
They won't be happy until poor people are left with the "leavings" TheRealNorth Jan 2023 #11
How many of these State legislators have diabetes due to obesity themselves? Freethinker65 Jan 2023 #13
In other words, Bayard Jan 2023 #19
The entire "effing" purpose of these programs, and school breakfast and lunch maxrandb Jan 2023 #22
👆👆 crickets Jan 2023 #27
I am pretty sure... jmowreader Jan 2023 #23
Next on the chopping list...apple pie. Behind the Aegis Jan 2023 #24
Republicans relish being assholes Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Jan 2023 #28

jimfields33

(15,450 posts)
4. White bread is the worst bread to consume.
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:46 PM
Jan 2023

Cheese causes triglycerides to rise. Meat is horrible to the environment. But so are some water drinking vegetables and nuts. So health isn’t the factor here.

markie

(22,755 posts)
9. yes..
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:58 PM
Jan 2023

if the restrictions were sincerely based on care and concern (as well as efficient, wise use of funds)... there would be extensive, easy opportunities (training, groups, meetings, etc.) to learn about healthy choices and ways to prepare them...

money and programs would allow more use of SNAP at Farmer's Markets and access to fresher foods... the problem of food deserts would be addressed, etc...

I support access to high quality, healthy foods but this proposal reeks of something else

jimfields33

(15,450 posts)
12. Oh yeah. Health is not the reason. I wish it were though.
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:07 PM
Jan 2023

They could really do a great overhaul and help people. But they want to punish.

moonscape

(4,664 posts)
20. Cheese isn't awful for triglycerides, refined carbs are. At
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 05:30 PM
Jan 2023

least that’s my understanding and experience.

viva la

(3,224 posts)
3. This is in IOWA? White-bread capital of the world?
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:41 PM
Jan 2023

That suggests they're just being mean. How on earth could you feed a family on $200 a month or so without cheap options like white rice and canned vegetables? Maybe they think everyone has access to a Whole Foods and a trust fund.

viva la

(3,224 posts)
14. Less in my state, but yes, you're right, more than $200
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:09 PM
Jan 2023

Still need flexibility in what to buy.

And what is their problem with seeds on buns?

markie

(22,755 posts)
6. So...
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:49 PM
Jan 2023

now the Republicans want to adopt food standards that just a few years ago they were criticizing Michelle Obama for????

I will play Devil's advocate here... while the R's ideas and actions are vile... we would all do well to follow Michelle Obama's lead more often

viva la

(3,224 posts)
15. Canned fruits and vegetables are often the only veggies you can find in a food desert-
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:11 PM
Jan 2023

like many small towns and city neighborhoods.

They might not be as healthy as fresh or frozen, but they're much cheaper and more accessible.

Hekate

(90,188 posts)
16. WIC is supposed to supplement SNAP, not replace it. Also, govt food programs SUPPORT FARMERS
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:14 PM
Jan 2023

It’s an agricultural subsidy as much as anything. Or was. Used to be.

I guess the only important thing now is that poor people should be humiliated and harmed. That passersby should be able to spot the poor instantly because their children have bad teeth and rickets. They can mock little kids for being obese from cheap corn syrup and sugar.

Diamond_Dog

(31,657 posts)
7. Granted some of those foods are not the healthiest
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 03:57 PM
Jan 2023

But lots of little kids will only eat a cheese sandwich or spaghetti

Better that than going hungry altogether.

It’s all about the control, the cruelty, and the humiliation.

tanyev

(42,354 posts)
25. And I wonder how many SNAP recipients live in food deserts?
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 06:21 PM
Jan 2023

When the nearest supermarket that stocks a wide variety of healthier options is a lengthy drive away, busy lives and the cost of gas or lack of any access to a car force many people to make do with what’s available at a convenience store.

TheBlackAdder

(28,070 posts)
10. A BIG FUCK YOU to local Iowa Meat and Dairy farmers. Canned Meats & Beans from out of state too.
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:00 PM
Jan 2023

.

Each of these regions normally specializes in a specific type of rice, referred to in the United States by length of grain—long, medium, and short. U.S. long-grain varieties typically cook dry and separate, while U.S. medium- and short-grain varieties are typically moist and clingy or sticky. In general, long-grain production accounts for around 75 percent of U.S. rice production, medium-grain production for about 24 percent, and short-grain for the remainder. In 2021, the United States produced 191.8 million hundredweight (cwt) of rough rice, down 16 percent from 2020 but still slightly above the 2019 crop.

U.S. long-grain rice production is concentrated in the South (Arkansas typically grows 56–58 percent of the U.S. long-grain crop.) California is the main producer of medium-grain rice, typically growing 70–76 percent of the crop—although Arkansas grows a substantial amount of medium-grain, especially in years when California is experiencing drought. Louisiana typically harvests a much smaller quantity of medium-grain rice. Short-grain rice is almost exclusively grown in California. All U.S. rice is produced in irrigated fields, achieving some of the highest yields in the world. Rice producers in the United States can seed aerially in flooded fields, or they can drill or broadcast (scatter) seed into dry fields. California producers seed primarily by air directly into flooded fields. Most producers in the Delta drill or broadcast seed into dry seedbeds, while growers in southwest Louisiana and on the Texas Gulf Coast seed both aerially into flooded fields and drill or broadcast seed into dry seedbeds.

Marketing years vary by State—in Texas and Louisiana beginning July 1, in Arkansas and Mississippi August 1, in Missouri September 1, and in California October 1. Some producers in Texas and southwest Louisiana are able to reflood their fields after harvest and achieve a partial second or "ratoon" crop from the stubble remaining in the field after the first-crop harvest.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/rice/rice-sector-at-a-glance/



It looks like the bean & rice #1 supplier will probably be NJ-based Goya.

Also, the only thing that's partially right is banning Processed Cheese Food, like "American Cheese". Shit ain't real.


.

TheRealNorth

(9,435 posts)
11. They won't be happy until poor people are left with the "leavings"
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:04 PM
Jan 2023

Pretty much a, "Let them eat cake" statement of intent.

Freethinker65

(9,928 posts)
13. How many of these State legislators have diabetes due to obesity themselves?
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 04:08 PM
Jan 2023

And choose to do nothing about it diet-wise? Were against public health mask and vaccine recommendations?

maxrandb

(15,187 posts)
22. The entire "effing" purpose of these programs, and school breakfast and lunch
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 05:39 PM
Jan 2023

goes back to a national security issues for the United States.

That's right, mist of these programs originated from the military finding that they couldn't field an Army in the early 1900's due to the vast amounts of America's youth that were MALNOURISHED.

Look it up. It's true, and I can't understand why Democrats don't advocate for those programs based on the very valid national security ramifications.

jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
23. I am pretty sure...
Fri Jan 20, 2023, 05:46 PM
Jan 2023

the massive meat industry in Iowa will have a few things to say about that.

But...flour? One quick way to expand your food budget is making your own bread.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Iowa Republicans want to ...