Martin Fisher

If it's cold/unheated, it's permitted. If it's hot or intended to be eaten in the store, it's not. In most states, anyway.

8% sales tax in this county of NY.

I don't know but almost any good church or the like is happy to provide good water — around here anyway.

I think nutrient dense foods are best but there are some shelf stable beverages that provide more nutrition that soda pop and the like, e.g. powdered milk which can be mixed with good water, shelf stable almond milk such as Blue Diamond Almond Breeze, shelf stable soy milk such as WestSoy or Silk, shelf stable cows milk such as Parmalat or Borden, etc.

Yes, nutrient-dense calories — not empty calories.

He lives in Florida. He told me that a 2 liter bottle of Coke or Dr. Pepper usually costs him $2.00 to $2.50 per bottle but he does sometimes find them on sale — 3/$5.00 or 2/$3.50

Also from the article: "Wilde argues that soda restrictions in SNAP are worth considering—not in a knee-jerk way, but rather after seeing what happens in a carefully constructed pilot project. If the results suggest that soda restrictions end up reducing the quality of participants' diets by driving them out of the SNAP program, the idea should be scrapped, he says. And if it results in people making healthier purchases, then restrictions make sense—especially if packaged with incentives to buy more vegetables and fruit. (Early evidence suggests that soda taxes, another policy tool for improving diets, might be effective as well.)" Seems reasonable.

From the article: "No, low-income people aren't quaffing huge amounts of soda on the taxpayer dime." Some folks certainly are. One of my friends is on SSI disability. He receives about ~$140 in SNAP — $194 being the most a single person can receive. He spends $50 to $60 per month on Coke and Dr. Pepper, as well as several dollars on junk food. He's CONSTANTLY complaining about weight gain and limited funds for good food — and he does know how to cook!

Yes it is. e.g. Mixing infant formula and Coke doesn't strike me as a good idea.

No need for you to be sorry. I'm the one who's sorry — sorry I live in Chemung county!

There is some SFSP availability here in Chemung County but it's not easily accessible for everyone — there's nothing in my immediate area nor several other areas in the county. Nothing at all available 25 miles south in rural PA where I grew up.

Bottled water can be purchased with SNAP benefits.

Depends on the type of soup. For fresher soups like tomato and basil I use my method here to minimize cooking. For cream of tomato and other rich soups I prefer the tomatoes be somewhat caramelized.

Not here.

I don't think anyone wants to see children starve. Most kids seem to survive just fine without school breakfast or lunch during summer break which is 2-1/2 to 3 months. Where does that food come from? For the needy — SNAP, charity (food banks.etc.)

The full report is here. Unfortunately it's an analysis that includes both cash and SNAP food/beverage purchases. There's no study (that I know of) that looks at just SNAP purchases and their effect on health.

I agree but it''s a harder sell than other sweet beverages.

Interesting report.... "...health experts are raising questions about whether it makes sense to allow SNAP purchases for unhealthy products such as soda and candy. Advocates are also looking for ways to incentivize healthy food purchases. While much attention has focused on how farm subsidies fuel our cheap, unhealthy food supply, SNAP represents the largest, most overlooked corporate subsidy in the farm bill." "This report examines what we know (and don’t know) about how food manufacturers, food retailers, and banks benefit from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps)." Food Stamps: Follow the Money

Philadelphia's new beverage tax imposes a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on sweetened beverages. That's bad news for struggling SNAP folks who choose to buy such. That's $2.16 per 12-pack or $1.01 per 2-liter. More money from a limited budget that won't go toward nutritious food. Sad! Philadelphia's definition: "What is taxed The tax is not just on sodas. This tax is on any non-alcoholic beverage, syrup, or other concentrate used to prepare a beverage that lists as an ingredient any form of caloric sugar-based sweetener, including, but not limited to sucrose, glucose, or high fructose corn syrup.Drinks considered “diet” or “zero calorie” are also taxed. Specifically, this tax is on any non-alcoholic beverage, syrup or other concentrate used to prepare a beverage that lists any form of artificial sugar substitute, including stevia, aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), saccharin, and advantame." "While concentrates or syrups are also taxed, their tax rate is based on the final beverage produced, not the raw syrup or concentrate." "Examples of sweetened beverages Soda (regular and diet); non-100%-fruit drinks; sports drinks; sweetened water; energy drinks; pre-sweetened coffee or tea; and non-alcoholic beverages intended to be mixed into an alcoholic drink." Philadelphia Beverage Tax

Perhaps a standard similar to what's mentioned in the referenced paper above. "The proposal, more exactly, is to exclude sweetened beverages containing more than 10 calories per cup, excluding fruit juice without added sugar, milk products, and milk substitutes."

Many of us have.

The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung in Toronto is also very interesting. It's as much, or more, about the causes of weight gain as it is how to reverse it. He cites some compelling research.

I don't think caffeine is an important 'nutrient.'

We all live in different circumstances and I did say 'relatively short', meaning 12 to 24 hours. I don't need condensation build-up in this small house.