Rep. Bakari Sellers Challenges Gov. Haley to Eat a Food Stamp Diet

NOTE: This story has been updated to include a quote from Gov. Haley's spokesperson, Rob Godfrey and Rep. Sellers response.

Rep. Bakari Sellers (D-Bamberg) has challenged Gov. Nikki Haley to eat a diet solely from food stamps for one week. The friendly proposition came via Twitter on Friday.

Sellers also invited Department of Social Services Director Lillian Koller to join him and the governor.

Earleir in the week Haley said that unhealthy foods should be eliminated from SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

As an added measure, Sellers committed to only shopping for healthy alternatives in his district, which contains parts of Bamberg, Barnwell, and Colleton Counties which are mostly rural.

"While the Governor's idea sounds good on the surface, poverty and obesity is not caused just by unhealthy foods, but rather expenses and access to healthy alternatives," said Rep. Sellers. "We don't have Whole Foods in rural South Carolina, nor does the farmer's market accept food stamps."

"If the Governor and Director Koller accept my challenge, they will quickly see that struggling South Carolinians aren't eating unhealthily because they want to," said Sellers. "Sometimes it is hard to understand the plight of the poor until you walk a mile in their shoes."

Sellers has filed a healthy school lunch bill that would ban sugary, high-fat foods from school lunch programs and remove calorie-loaded snacks and soft drinks from school vending machines. 

"Obesity in South Carolina starts in the schools," said Sellers. "If Governor Haley truly wants to fight this epidemic, I would ask for her support in helping pass my healthy school lunch bill."

In response to Sellers' challenge, Haley's spokesperson Rob Godfrey said, "What the governor and state officials have done is challenge all South Carolinians to be healthier. It’s a serious issue, not just another political opportunity for State Rep. Sellers to exploit for personal gain - when he implies that SNAP participants are unable to make healthy choices, he insults them. This is an opportunity for leaders like State Rep. Sellers to work with the governor, who grew up in his district, on fighting obesity, the No. 1 killer of South Carolinians."

"I'm very surprised that Governor Haley has rejected my challenge to live on a food stamp budget for a week," Sellers said. "Once again we see that the Governor's rhetoric and actions are two entirely different things. It is disappointing that Governor Haley doesn't understand the problem; but it's even more disappointing that she is refusing to try and understand the problem."

In December, Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker made a similar pledge to live on food stamps.

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