Maine wants to stop people from buying candy and soda with food stamps

Snacks displayed in a supermarket
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Maine health officials proposed a ban Monday that would prevent people from using food stamps to buy candy and soda, Reuters reports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will have the final say on the federal aid program's restrictions in Maine, a state where about 28 percent of people are obese, according to 2014 self-reported data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Federal rules allow the purchase of soda, candy, and other junk food with food stamps, but not tobacco or alcohol.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.