A new study found the federal government’s food stamps program could do more to encourage healthy eating among recipients.
USDA researchers tracked seven years of shopping habits of adult recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The picture they got from 2001 to 2008 was mixed: more households were buying fresh fruit, but a very slim percentage were eating fewer greens than those not getting food aid.
The USDA plans to study further the impact of food stamps on diets. Obesity rates remain a major public health concern.