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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to stop Americans from buying soda, at least those who are using the federal food assistance program known as SNAP. It's unclear if Kennedy has the authority to make this change, and critics say it's not the best way to get people to eat a healthier diet. NPR's Katia Riddle reports.
KATIA RIDDLE, BYLINE: Among the people who are skeptical about Kennedy's proposal - Natalie Kiyah, single, working mom of four. She's been on and off food assistance for over a decade. She says she has used it to buy soda.
NATALIE KIYAH: Like, I love to, once in a while, treat my kids. Like, a fun pizza night would also be soda night.
RIDDLE: Kiyah says it's a small indulgence, but it's a meaningful one.
KIYAH: The more choice I have, it feels - first of all, I feel more dignity. I feel more secure in who I am, having options, which then makes me a better mom and better mental health. Like, it's all connected.
RIDDLE: Some people who study food policy say it's not a bad idea to discourage people on federal assistance from consuming things like soda and candy. Dariush Mozaffarian directs the Food As Medicine Institute (ph) at Tufts University. He says SNAP has been an effective program for reducing financial strain for families.
DARIUSH MOZAFFARIAN: And at the same time, it's not been a very effective program for improving nutrition. It's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and yet the N has been missing.
RIDDLE: Mozaffarian says it is important that states try new things to promote healthier eating. But he points to programs that use negative and positive incentives as the most successful. For example, giving people more money to spend on groceries when they buy fruits and vegetables.
MOZAFFARIAN: That's a way of preserving choice but nudging people towards healthier behaviors.
RIDDLE: One thing most people who study food agree on - too much sugary soda does contribute to obesity and chronic disease. One study found people not on SNAP benefits drink almost the same amount as those who are.
JOEL BERG: Americans should drink less soda. No question about it.
RIDDLE: Joel Berg is the CEO of an organization called Hunger Free America. He worked on food policy under President Clinton. He doesn't believe Kennedy's proposal is the way to make people healthier.
BERG: If we really want to improve public health, we ought to make healthier food more affordable, more physically available and convenient.
RIDDLE: Berg points to research from his organization that looked at the impact of the expanded child tax credit on people's shopping behavior. That credit put more money in their pockets.
BERG: We found that low-income people told us nationwide they were able to buy healthier food. They were able to shop at more farmers markets. If you build it, they will come.
RIDDLE: Another group that's not a fan of restricting soda purchases - beverage companies. Merideth Potter is senior vice president at American Beverage. That's an industry group. She says it's a soundbite solution to a very complex problem, and it's picking on working families.
MERIDETH POTTER: The majority of people on SNAP work. They just don't make enough to make ends meet month to month. It will treat them like second-class citizens.
RIDDLE: Potter says beverage companies are sensitive to concerns around sugar.
POTTER: Our companies have been innovating and bringing more choices to market that have less sugar. I mean, just look at the explosion in growth in water and sparkling waters and flavored waters.
RIDDLE: Representatives from both the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, did not respond to an interview request for this story. Natalie Kiyah, the mom of four, says she has a message for the administration.
KIYAH: There is so much more than soda that we are up against when it comes to health and being healthy and giving our children and ourselves healthy foods and drinks.
RIDDLE: Kiyah says working full-time, being a single mom of four kids, she feels like she's on a hamster wheel.
KIYAH: A lot of times, it feels like because I have to pay my bills - and I can barely pay my bills - and so there's no time except, here, let me pop up some chicken nuggets in the microwave.
RIDDLE: She says instead of a soda ban, she could really use more time and money to make a healthy meal. Katia Riddle, NPR News.
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