First off, this isn't that important. Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. Healthy eating is an optimization on top of that. Second,

First off, this isn't that important. Our first priority should be stopping people starving to death. Healthy eating is an optimization on top of that. Second, this is complicated by the fact that "healthy" vs "unhealthy" food vibes are often factually incorrect. People assume cheaper and less labor intensive food is unhealthier, when in reality sugar is sugar. For example, this study points out SNAP recipients bought more "prepared deserts". That makes complete sense - they're far less likely to bake themselves or eat out, but there's little evidence that premade the sugary baked goods they ate less healthy than home baked ones. Third, this study is talking about tiny effect sizes. A 2.15% increase in sugary beverage purchase, really? Finally, on a moral level I believe everyone has the right to make poor decisions. Just because someone receives government benefits doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to trade off momentary enjoyment for long-term health issues, especially if society has ruined their long term anyway.