Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Bloomberg: No More Food Stamps for Sugary Drinks!
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 7, 2010
Modified Oct 7, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 7, 2010
Modified Oct 7, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
He won't rest until we're all eating nothing but fiber pellets distributed by government contractors at smoke-free pedestrian plaza work camps. As if poor people on food stamps don't have enough troubles, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson are teaming up to deprive them of the sweet solace of soda pop! By making food stamps invalid for purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages in NYC, the city also hopes to deprive poor people of diabetes.
"In spite of the great gains we’ve made over the past eight years in making our communities healthier, there are still two areas where we’re losing ground - obesity and diabetes," Mayor Bloomberg says. And Paterson's chimes in, "The use of Food Stamp benefits to support the purchase of sugar sweetened drinks not only contradicts the intent of this vital program, but it also subsidizes a serious public health epidemic." Of course, food stamp recipients would still be able to use the stamps for other junk food. (For now!)
If the initiative is approved by the USDA, it would prohibit the use of food stamps to purchase sugar-sweetened beverages containing more than 10 calories per 8 ounces. (A 12 ounce soda, for example contains 150 calories and the equivalent of 10 packets of sugar, without any other nutrients.) Fruit juices without added sugar, milk products and milk substitutes would still be permitted. The change would be in effect for a trial period of two years, during which the Health Department would study its impact. But winning USDA approval is not a guarantee; ABC reports that in 2004 the USDA rejected Minnesota's plan to ban junk food from food stamp purchases, saying it would violate the Food Stamp Act's definition of what is food and could create "confusion and embarrassment" at the register.
In 2009, New Yorkers with the lowest income "were most likely to consume one or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day and did so at a rate almost double that of New Yorkers with the highest incomes (38 percent vs. 19 percent)", according to the Mayor's press release. The Health Department asserts that a child who consumes one sugary drink a day has a 60 percent higher risk of obesity than those who do not. In announcing the proposal, the city released a map showing sugary beverage consumption broken down by neighborhood. They love their soda in the outer boroughs!
Tagged
food stamps
mayor bloomberg
nanny state
soda
sugar
sugary beverages
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
Where are the cheapest drinks in NYC? A new report details the city's average prices.
The median price of a cocktail in the city is now $16, and $9 for a draft beer.
By
Hannah Frishberg
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 1:31 p.m. ET
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
Food
North African restaurants are rare in NYC. These 10 are the best.
Egyptian, Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian food is delicious but underrepresented in the city.
By
Robert Sietsema
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
By
Robert Sietsema
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .