Colorado has joined 22 other states in proposing restrictions on what SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program ) recipients are permitted to buy – a politically convenient response to food insecurity that targets the choices of people struggling to eat rather than the systems that make eating well out of reach.
The waiver would prohibit the use of benefits to purchase any ready-to-drink beverages containing natural or artificial sweeteners – including soda, sports drinks, sweetened teas, and diet drinks – at any Colorado retailer. Recipients can, however, purchase things like sports drinks packets or an iced coffee that includes milk.
The name “Healthy Choice Waiver” implies a policy grounded in health. The reality is that energy and resources spent on rules that police grocery carts – while leaving untouched every structural condition driving the 16-year life expectancy gaps in counties across Colorado – only kick the can of addressing real barriers to health equity further down the road…