According to reports, the Texas Senate passed a bill that would restrict SNAP food stamp recipients from purchasing items like soda, chips, and candy.
However, Dallas’ Bonton Farms argues that the bill, which aims to promote healthier choices, is ineffective as it fails to address the lack of access to healthy food in low-income areas.
The bill is now set to be considered by the Texas House.
The Texas Senate passed a bill that would ban food stamp recipients from buying things like soda, chips and candy.
The push-back on Senate Bill 379 isn’t about whether healthier foods are more necessary.
Those at Bonton Farms say the theory is good, but with no access to healthy foods for customers in poor areas, it’s just a healthy bill in name only.
Bonton Farms is an oasis of fresh produce in a food desert in South Dallas. An area with already few grocery options and, in the last year, locations near Fair Park have closed their doors.
“If a community member does not have transportation themselves and have to rely on public transportation, that’s still going to be an hour and 15 minutes one way to get to the grocery store. Yes, an hour,” said CEO of Bonton Farms, Gabe Madison.
The farmers’ market at Bonton Farms allows shoppers to purchase fresh produce and meat with their SNAP benefits, even offering a type of buy-one-get-one-free option on produce through a state partnership.
Texas Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston), the author of the junk food crackdown, says the goal is not to punish the poor.
“Items like soda, energy drinks, candy, potato chips, corn chips, cookies. They don’t just lack nutritional value. They are bad for you,” said Sen. Middleton.
Senator Nathan Johnson echoed the same sentiments as Middleton. “It’s really hard for people to make good health decisions when all they’ve seen their whole lives is junk food,” said Sen. Johnson
But Democrats pushed back on that, highlighting the issues of access and education on healthy food options.
