Iowa Poll: Majority of Iowans favor ban on using SNAP funds to buy pop and candy
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A majority of Iowans approve of legislation that would restrict the use of food assistance benefits.
A new Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll found 57% of Iowans say they favor a state bill that would ban individuals from using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds, also known as food stamps, to buy pop and candy.
Forty percent oppose the legislation, House File 613, while 4% aren’t sure.
The poll, conducted March 5-8 by Selzer & Co., asked 805 adult Iowans for their views on this bill, along with a flurry of other GOP-backed proposals racing through this year’s legislative session. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The ban receives support from 66% of Republicans and 54% of independents. Forty-five percent of Democrats also favor the bill.
The highest support comes from those who voted for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election, with 69% in favor, and those living in rural Iowa, with 68% support.
Though poll respondent Robert Bierkamp, a self-described independent voter, doesn’t support many of the GOP-backed measures before the Iowa Legislature, he said he does support the food assistance bill — even though he’s not entirely convinced pop and candy should be totally forbidden.
“I think they have to have some rights, but there has to be a limit on it. You can’t just fill your card up with candy and pop,” said Bierkamp, a 73-year-old retired teacher from Indianola.
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Ban part of larger Republican effort to place eligibility conditions on SNAP users
If the bill passes, the state will need approval from federal officials to exclude pop and candy from the list of eligible food items under the program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, previously has denied requests from other states to ban SNAP recipients from purchasing junk food or pop.
The bill is part of a larger effort from Iowa Republicans to add more checks on eligibility requirements for those who can access the state’s public assistance programs.
Poll respondent Scott Dundee, a 58-year-old Republican living in Marion, says food assistance funds should be used to support the family’s nutritional needs, not to purchase junk food.
“I don’t think you should be using food assistance for that,” he said.
However, Dundee is in favor of SNAP and other food-aid programs, such as free and reduced-price school lunches. He said he did not support the initial version of the Republican bill, which would have banned Iowans from using SNAP to buy a wider variety of foods, including fresh produce and meat.
In fact, given rising costs at the grocery store, Dundee said he believes eligibility for SNAP should be expanded to help more Iowans like his stepdaughter, who is a single parent and has too high an income to qualify for food assistance. He said she struggles to cover her other expenses and still have enough money to buy groceries.
In Iowa, about 230,000 people — including 80,000 children — consistently lack access to enough food, according to Feeding America.
Food insecurity in Iowa and across the country has been on the rise, which researchers say is driven by higher food prices and rising costs for other basic needs.
The end of pandemic-era safety nets, such as boosted unemployment benefits, also played a factor in Americans’ eroding food budgets this year, according to a report from the Urban Institute.
“It’s just hard for people right now, trying to make ends meet,” Dundee said. “Even just a little bit more to help them out, because the economy right now just sucks.”
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Majority of Democrats oppose SNAP ban on pop and candy
The only majority opposition to the ban on pop and candy purchases is among Democrats and those living in the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Des Moines and counties in south central Iowa. Fifty-one percent of each group don't approve of the ban.
The proposal also is opposed by 50% of Iowans living in suburbs and half of those who voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
FAQs: How is the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll conducted? We answer your top questions.
Opponents to the bill say the ban would “punish poor people.” Poll respondent Kathleen Kern, a 78-year-old retiree from Atlantic, echoed those statements, saying Iowans shouldn’t be denied food just because they can’t afford it on their own.
“If you’re on food stamps, you should be buying healthy food, but once in a while, I don’t see why a candy bar or a bottle of soda should be banned just because you’re poor,” said Kern, a Democrat.
“I know how it is for a child to look and see something that they really, really would like, but know that they can’t have it just because they’re poor. They can’t help being poor.”
Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm.
About the poll
The Iowa Poll, conducted March 5-8, 2023, for The Des Moines Register and Mediacom by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, is based on telephone interviews with 805 Iowans ages 18 or older. Interviewers with Quantel Research contacted households with randomly selected landline and cell phone numbers supplied by Dynata. Interviews were administered in English. Responses were adjusted by age, sex and congressional district to reflect the general population based on recent American Community Survey estimates.
Questions based on the sample of 805 Iowa adults have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. This means that if this survey were repeated using the same questions and the same methodology, 19 times out of 20, the findings would not vary from the true population value by more than plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Results based on smaller samples of respondents — such as by gender or age — have a larger margin of error.
Republishing the copyright Iowa Poll without credit to The Des Moines Register and Mediacom is prohibited.
Iowa Poll methodology
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Majority favor SNAP food stamp ban on pop, candy, Iowa Poll finds
