TOPEKA — Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau urged her colleagues Tuesday to make access to healthy food a priority instead of imposing “humiliating” restrictions on how low-income residents use government funds for food.
The Wichita Democrat said she represents some of “the poorest people” in the state. Because her district is a food desert, she said, residents end up buying food at dollar stores clustered in the area. Sometimes, she added, the best option is a candy bar.
“I know these people, and they would love to eat on the outer rim of the grocery store and buy fresh fruits and vegetables, which are really, really expensive,” Faust-Goudeau said.
Her remarks came during a 90-minute debate on Senate Bill 79, which would seek federal approval to ban the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for candy and soft drinks. Republicans said they want to ensure taxpayer funding is being spent on healthy food, but Democrats raised concerns about the way food is defined in the bill and called for “real solutions” to hunger and healthy eating.
“If we truly want people to eat healthy and not waste money and spend it frivolously, we would invest in my district to help with the grocery store, and we would help with offering fresh fruits and vegetables to those that are unfortunately poor,” Faust-Goudeau said.
She said the state makes it “humiliating and embarrassing” for individuals to receive food assistance. Individuals already have to navigate intentionally cumbersome paperwork to enroll in the program, she said.
“I don’t understand why this is a major issue in the Kansas Legislature right now when there are so many other pressing issues that we can be dealing with,” Faust-Goudeau said.
The Senate advanced the legislation on a voice vote, with final action expected later Tuesday or Wednesday.
‘Fearmongering beyond the pale’
Sen. Renee Erickson, a Republican from Wichita, defended the legislation amid an avalanche of questions by Democrats.
She emphasized that the bill doesn’t cut “one penny of benefits” for SNAP recipients. And she noted that you can buy frozen steak at Dollar General stores.
“One child going hungry is too many,” Erickson said. “But to think because we are saying you cannot buy soft drinks and candy with SNAP benefits is exacerbating childhood hunger, I think, is just fearmongering beyond the pale.”
Sen. Cindy Holscher, a Democrat from Overland Park, said SNAP recipients in Kansas receive, on average, $187 per month. She asked Erickson, in comparison, how much assistance state lawmakers receive through their “per diem,” a subsidy for food and housing costs during the legislative session.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you. I don’t pay any attention to the per diem,” Erickson said.
The answer, per Holscher: $109 per day.
Holscher proposed an amendment to the bill that would apply the proposed SNAP restrictions to the per diem that legislators receive.
“So we shouldn’t be allowed to use our salary to buy pop or candy?” Erickson said.
Holscher said the premise of the bill was to ensure proper use of taxpayer dollars.
“It’s a false argument,” Erickson said. “It’s comparing apples and oranges.”
The Senate rejected the amendment on a 29-8 party-line vote with Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, declining to vote.
“If we are so concerned about taxpayer funds being used appropriately, we as a body should be ready to abide by the guardrails that we want to apply to other populations,” Holscher said.
‘Say that to their face’
Sen. Brenda Dietrich, R-Topeka, joined Democrats in raising concerns about the way the legislation defines candy and soft drinks.
Under the bill, “soft drinks” would mean nonalcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners, but it would exclude drinks with milk, soy, rice or more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice.
It defines “candy” as items with sugar, honey or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts or other ingredients. But it would exclude items that contain flour.
Dietrich, who noted that her district includes the Mars Inc. plant outside of Topeka, said the bill would allow purchases of Twizzlers, Twix, Kit Kat and Milk Way bars, but would ban diet soda.
“There’s going to be some confusion,” she said.
Another Topeka Republican, Sen. Rick Kloos, said he was concerned that SNAP recipients, under current rules, would allow someone to spend the entirety of their monthly benefit on candy and soft drinks.
There is already a health crisis with young people, he said.
“I can identify with that, because I walk around here sometimes with all the food and all the desserts and all the things, and I joke, and some of you, my colleagues would know, I’d say, ‘That’s going to put me in diabetic shock.’ But the reality of it is, if an individual could go in and buy all candy and all pop, it’s a little concerning,” Kloos said.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said if the goal were to improve nutrition for young people, the Senate could consider better alternatives, such as providing more free meals in schools.
Sykes proposed an amendment to allow the purchase of hot food with SNAP benefits, but the Senate rejected the idea on a 28-11 vote with Dietrich and Sen. Bill Clifford, R-Garden City, joining Democrats.
“A lot of us probably know someone who is one paycheck away from needing a little bit of help to get by,” Sykes said. “Would you look at them and think that they’re just trying to scam the system? Would you look at them and say, ‘Gee, I get to tell you what you can put in your body because I’m in a better financial position than you.’ I bet you wouldn’t say that to their face. And if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, then I don’t think you should be voting to put it in law.”
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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