Robert F. Kennedy Jr. emphasizes minor dietary issues such as food dyes and supported waivers to bar SNAP purchases of soda, candy and junk food. Those actions divert attention from larger barriers to healthier diets and from programs that demonstrably work. Hawaii's Da Bux doubles SNAP value for locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, giving $10 of produce for a $5 spend, and receives federal and state support through GusNIP. Da Bux helps low-income families eat better, boosts small farmers, is easy to use, and is accepted at multiple retailers. Similar programs exist in other states, such as California's Market Match.
Newsflash: While there is a legitimate conversation to be had about food additives, changing the dyes in Froot Loops will never turn them into a health food. It's a distraction, and no doubt deliberate. Kennedy and the administration ignore the big issues-he real obstacles to Americans eating a healthier diet-because they involve subjects the Trump administration wants to ignore.
In my adopted home state of Hawaii, we have a program called Da Bux, under which SNAP recipients who use their benefits to buy Hawaii-grown fresh fruits and vegetables get double value: Spend $5 at participating grocers and get $10 worth of fresh, local produce. The grocery store where I do much of my shopping has a produce section dotted with signs pointing out Da Bux-eligible items-tomatoes, papayas, all sorts of good, healthy stuff.
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