A proposal that could severely limit the types of food that could be bought with food stamps passed the West Virginia Senate overwhelmingly on Monday.
The change, which would have to be approved by the federal government, is an effort to get those with low-incomes eating healthier foods, but critics fear that it could backfire in areas with few grocery stores and little access to fresh food.
There are two major federal programs to provide food aid to low-income citizens - the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infant and Children Program (WIC).
SNAP, the traditional food stamp program, can be used by almost anyone who meets income requirements. Benefits can be used to buy virtually any kind of food, so long as it has a nutritional label on it. That includes things like candy, soda and potato chips, but not alcohol or prepared food that would be eaten in the store.
WIC is for pregnant women and women with young children. It has much stricter nutritional requirements and can only be used for specific items, like milk, eggs, beans and whole grain items.
The bill (SB 626) would require the state Department of Health and Human Resources to seek a waiver from the federal government which could then allow West Virginia to limit SNAP benefits to only (healthy) items available through WIC.
It tells the DHHR to make recommendations, but is quite vague in what the waiver would specifically do.
"This is something that a lot of us have worked on for some time, trying to get highly nutritious foods and less Mountain Dew," said Sen. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, a co-sponsor.
Stollings, a doctor, acknowledged concerns about food deserts, areas with little access to healthy food, but said he was confident they would be addressed.
The DHHR declined to take a firm position on the bill, but voiced concerns.
"This would be a sweeping change in the ability for SNAP participants to purchase food items," Nancy Exline, commissioner for DHHR's Bureau for Children and Families said. "It is hard to find a precedent to anticipate an outcome."
Exline said that the federal government has been very reluctant to approve similar requests from other states.
The Senate passed the bill 29-5.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, voted no, saying he was concerned about areas where the changes could inadvertently preclude the use of SNAP benefits entirely.
"There are a lot of places in this state that have only convenience stores where there's nothing healthy to eat, it's all junk food," Kessler said. "I'm concerned it's going to prohibit the use of SNAP benefits except for healthy foods where they don't exist, and that doesn't help."
About one in five West Virginians uses SNAP benefits, according to the Food Research and Action Center, a national nonprofit focused on hunger and nutrition.
Exline noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, usually tries to use incentives, outreach and education programs, rather than restrictions, to get people to use SNAP benefits on healthier food.
Two weeks ago, the USDA announced a new proposed rule that would force stores to carry more healthy options if they want to accept SNAP benefits.
Currently, a store only needs to have three types of "qualifying food" in order to be able to accept SNAP. So, if a convenience store sells milk, eggs and a few apples, they can accept SNAP benefits for any food that they sell, including stuff like potato chips and soda.
The proposed change would require SNAP-eligible stores to offer seven different types of "qualifying foods" as well as different varieties within each type.
"It places the burden on retailers to increase their options if they want to enjoy the federal benefits," said Bradley Wilson, a professor of geography at West Virginia University, who maps food access and availability.
Wilson said he appreciated the idea of increasing access to healthy food, but thought the bill was counterproductive.
Since WIC regulations are so much stricter, there are far fewer stores in West Virginia that are able to accept WIC.
There are more than 2,000 retailers in West Virginia that accept SNAP, but only 294 that accept WIC, according to Wilson's work. Not only that, but WIC-eligible stores are distributed unequally, concentrated in metro areas.
"Roughly half of West Virginia residents do not live in a Census block with a WIC certified retailer," Wilson wrote.
He said that the bill does not explain how the state will expand people's access to WIC certified stores.
"It merely tells SNAP beneficiaries where they will be able to spend their federal benefits, which, for many, is nowhere nearby," he said.
Reach David Gutman at david.gutman@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5119 or follow @davidlgutman on Twitter.