M@D Call to Arms (this is not a regular newsletter)

This is Ros – Your M@D Manager and this email is to encourage you to contact your senator and representatives TODAY.

At long and at last Alabama is considering legislation that would reduce our grocery tax burden. Many in the state house are on board with it.

Our family has been pushing this idea in Montgomery for at least a year now and I’ve even spoke with senators about the idea of eliminating tax on HEALTHY FOOD. This would give an incentive for people to make smarter choices statewide. Our idea was that anything you could get tax free at a Farmer’s Market should be tax free in a grocery store. In time this has the potential to to reduce obesity and improve everyone’s health, ultimately lowering Medicaid costs.

Apparently that would mean overhauling every grocery computer system in the state. There are however two taxed/non-taxed systems already in use in Alabama, SNAP and WIC.

RIGHT NOW there is debate in the State House about what system to use, to determine what foods would and would not be taxed.

This is because it is the closest to the Farmer’s Market definition of healthy foods. The SNAP system would not discourage people from continuing to abuse themselves with highly processed things that contribute to health problems.

Again, Please email or contact your elected officials TODAY to make your own voice heard. It’s taken this many years to reach this point and we’ve only got one shot at getting it right.