No. of Recommendations: 1
The obvious solution which we can now test in Mamdani's NYC regime starting Jan. 1, 2026, is the following (the pilot project in NYC):
SNAP beneficiaries don't get an EBT card.
Instead, they get a monthly credit to their account with NYC's chain of government-owned and operated-grocery stores.
Said groceries will have special SNAP sections which won't have unhealthy foods or convenience foods.
The SNAP shoppers can only spend their store credits on food from the healthy sections.
The checkout scanners will reject any stray items which do not belong but that the SNAP beneficiary "mistakenly" tried to buy.
There will be scales in the front of the store as well as tape measures and a nurse. Each SNAP beneficiary will be weighed and measured. If their BMI exceeds 25, they will forfeit their SNAP benefits for that month.
