In Brief: Dietary supplements and food stamps
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Dietary supplements and food stamps: Welfare reform legislation (HR 3734) awaiting President Clinton's signature provides for a study to be conducted to examine food stamp use and vitamin and mineral purchases. Conducted by the Agriculture Dept., the National Academy of Sciences and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the study will examine: vitamin/mineral intake in low-income populations; the potential of dietary supplements to fill nutrient gaps; the effects of better nutrition (including supplementation) on women of childbearing age and the elderly; the cost of supplementation; the purchasing habits of low-income groups; and the economic impact on the agricultural industry of using food stamps to purchase vitamins and minerals. The bill specifies that the Agriculture secretary report the results of the study to Congress by Dec. 15, 1998...