Feds May Use Food Stamps to Improve Nutrition

The Obama White House may move to revamp food aid so it encourages healthy eating, reports the Washington Post. One idea gaining favor: Double the value of food stamps if they're used to buy fruits and vegetables. While anti-hunger advocates have long objected to such government meddling, opposition is softening because of a growing body of evidence that links the seemingly opposite notions of hunger and obesity.

The problem is that people on food stamps understandably go for cheap food, but that food is often high in calories and low on nutritional value. Punishing people for such purchases is a no-go because many low-income neighborhoods don't have a full-service supermarket and produce aisle. The idea, instead, is to create incentives to buy wisely. Such programs are already in place at farmers markets in Connecticut, California, and Massachusetts. (More Tom Vilsack stories.)