A study finds that blocking food stamp recipients from buying sugary drinks does reduce soda consumption, which proponents of such restrictions have long argued it would. Food stamps is the everyday name for SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The study also raises stigma concerns, and that is where the debate gets harder.
The proponent case rests on purchasing behavior. If soda cannot be bought with SNAP funds, people buy less of it. The study confirms that logic, and proponents cite it as reason to keep restrictions in place.
What the restrictions cost recipients is less tidy. Stigma is the concern the research surfaces on that side. Whether the drop in soda purchases justifies what recipients face socially is the question the study raises without settling.