Rep. Sheila Butt files bill to prohibit unhealthy foods for food stamps

by Jake Lowary, The Tennessean, Jan. 13, 2017 - A Columbia lawmaker has filed a bill in the legislature that would prohibit low-income families from using food stamps to purchase items high in calories, sugar or fat, saying such benefits should come with strings attached. ... “When you’re receiving taxpayer dollars, it’s not money that you’ve have earned. It’s money that other people have earned and is redistributed to you. Strings come along with that,” Butt said in a release posted on her website. “By allowing their purchase with EBT cards, we are actually enhancing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity in at-risk communities.” (link)