DENVER — After hours of testimony and discussion, the Colorado Board of Human Services decided to delay their vote on whether to restrict SNAP recipients from using their food assistance to buy soft drinks.
Under the the Colorado ‘Healthy Choice Waiver,’ SNAP recipients would not be able to use their food assistance to buy drinks that contain less than 50% of fruit and vegetable juice by volume. Things like water, milk, milk alternatives, baby formula and electrolyte packets that someone could mix themselves would still be available for purchase.
The board voted 8-1 to delay the vote on the waiver until their April 3 meeting. The waiver was requested by the Colorado Department of Human Services (separate from the board) and Gov. Jared Polis' office and was approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It now needs the Board of Human Services' stamp of approval to ultimately be implemented. The USDA has approved similar waivers to restrict candy and sugary drinks for SNAP recipients in 21 other states.
Proponents say the waiver would encourage healthier choices, while opponents argue it would create further stigma for SNAP recipients.
Tamara Pogue, who serves as a board member and Summit County Commissioner, put forth the motion to delay consideration during Friday’s meeting. Board member Brisa Chavez seconded it.
“What I'm really looking for is a package of policy that doesn't start with a ban,” Pogue emphasized.
Pogue added that she wants assurance that people have had the chance to make their own decisions before the board decided for them.
“There are no surgeon general warnings on sodas that say consuming these beverages are bad for you, like, we have not made it possible for consumers to make the best choices, and that's the piece that's bothering me," she said.
"So, where I am right now is I would really like to see public policy that is built on the science of prevention, which is you start with giving people education, and when that fails to work for a whole host of reasons, then you move to outright bans."
And for SNAP recipients like Kayla Frawley, who attended the meeting and submitted comment, the delay in vote provided a glimmer of hope.
“This delay in vote gives me hope that... the committee members on the board really listen to community in saying, ‘Oh, we cannot implement this waiver,'" she said.
Dr. Mary Young, chair of the board, and one of the eight board members who voted to delay the vote, said in Friday’s meeting that a lot of her questions focus on research.
"We've heard that there isn't research that really shows that restricting this will bring a change in behavior," she said. "But we've clearly heard from communities who support people who receive SNAP and individuals who receive SNAP themselves that it will have an impact on them.”
“We're not even sure, with these potential negatives, whether putting this in will have a positive impact,” she added.
Board Member Mychael Dave, who serves as vice chair, voiced his appreciation for the testimony shared, and pointed out what he sees as the "burden" the waiver would put on lower-income people.
“Right now, we're only telling poor folks about this message of restriction," he said.
“I think we turn around the priority," he added. "We turn around the board. Don't put it on poor people first and make them the guinea pigs."
Shelley Banker, the director of the Office of Economic Security within CDHS, told Denver7 ahead of Friday's meeting that the implementation of this waiver aligns with the state’s health goals.
"We know that Coloradans can make choices with their own dollars and purchasing, but this aligns one with our health priorities in Colorado, and also gives an opportunity for us to long term track some of the healthy benefits and outcomes,” she said.
But Frawley and other advocates believe this waiver would do more harm than good.
“It would have a gigantic impact in ways that we can't even see,” said Frawley
“The waiver itself is not the easiest to understand, and so you're going to have a lot of confused community members about what they can buy and what they can't and something that SNAP participants and WIC participants will tell you is that the stigma in checking out with your groceries is a really big stress factor,” Frawley added.
Banker of OES said that they do want to make sure consumers are aware of the changes and are working with retailers and getting the word out so Coloradans know of the changes before getting into the checkout line.
Frawley also pointed out ways the change would impact her and other parents.
"Like my kid right now, he has two lacrosse practices; he's got a Saturday game," she said. "I'm getting Gatorade."
"Those are the simple things automatically that are taken out of our opportunity to just be dignified parents," she added.
Dayana Leyva, the senior policy and advocacy manager with Provecho Collective, formerly the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, echoed Frawley's sentiment when Denver7 spoke with her ahead of Friday’s meeting.
“It creates just a heightened stigma,” she said.
Leyva added that the change could impact people who have unique dietary medical needs where they need sugary, sweetened beverages.
"These restrictions are very much one-size-fits-all, which is not an approach that works for a lot of SNAP participants," she said.
Denver7 also reached out to the Gov. Jared Polis’ office after the board decided to delay their vote. A spokesperson for the office said the Colorado’s Healthy Food Waiver would "improve nutritional options" for SNAP participants.
The statement said:
“Governor Polis is committed to increasing access to healthier foods and supporting Colorado farmers and ranchers. The Governor is appreciative of the conversation at the Board of Human Services today about the state of Colorado’s Healthy Food Waiver from USDA, and agrees with many of the points that were discussed about the need for a comprehensive approach to nutrition. The waiver is one part of a broader strategy to ensure Coloradans have access to more healthy foods and the best information possible to make healthy choices. Our approved waiver would improve nutritional options for SNAP recipients and increase access to healthy foods that are part of leading healthy lives and encouraging healthier eating, especially for Coloradans using SNAP to put food on the table.”
Denver7 also reached out to the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Economic Security for comment on the board’s decision, but had not heard back by the time of publication.
If the waiver would have been approved by the board Friday, it would have gone into effect April 30. Denver7 reached out to the Colorado Department of Human Services to see if this delay in vote pushes back the implementation at all.
Frawley said she'll continue to show up on the issue, noting that she'll be at the April 3 meeting when the board reconsiders the waiver.
“You have to keep showing up, otherwise we risk having our benefits limited and taken away,” she said.
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