Yum! Brands, the parent company of several national fast food chains, including KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, is lobbying the Kentucky state government to allow the use of food stamps in its restaurants. If the change in the law passes, Kentucky will join a very short list of only three other states – Michigan, Arizona and California – that permit food stamps to be used this way.

As reported by the local newspaper, the Courier Journal, Louisville-based Yum! intends to accept so-called EBT cards for payment, which proponents say will provide a much needed service for food stamps recipients who otherwise have difficulties to find a ready-cooked meal.

Supporters of the petition, including advocacy groups for the homeless, argue that any restaurant business willing to accept food stamps should be allowed to participate in the program. Natalie Harris, a spokesperson for the Coalition for the Homeless, is strongly in favor of the idea. “For those […] who don’t live near a large grocery store and can’t afford a restaurant, sometimes their only option is the nearest gas station. […] This would allow people to get a reduced price meal at a small deli or a restaurant, and that does include fast-food restaurants.”

Of course, this is not only a concern for homeless people. Elderly and disabled people, who are unable to cook at home for whatever reasons, can’t get a prepared meal if they depend on government help to pay for it.

Currently, Kentucky provides support to the needy mainly through its Food Assistance Program, which does not (yet) cover fast food items. Opponents of the proposed law change want to keep it that way. They argue that the government should not help push more sales of junk food on poor people at the expense of their health. In the long run, it would adversely affect the well-being of entire communities and drive up health care costs for the state.

In 2010, Kentucky was ranked number seven in the U.S. in terms of obesity rates, with over 30 percent of obese adults. Childhood obesity and Type 2 diabetes are also on the rise here. Critics say these numbers will only go up if low-income families are enticed to spend their food stamps at hamburger joints.

Louisville, where Yum! is headquartered, has been in the news lately for other reasons as well. Ironically, one might say, the town wants to be known for its fight against obesity. In 2003, city hall received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to help with the construction of bicycle lanes and to develop a number of small “pocket parks” as part of its affordable housing projects. To motivate people to drive less and move their bodies more instead, wider and safer sidewalks are being built.

These may be humble beginnings, but they point in the right direction. Still, if these few well-meaning efforts remain sporadic and isolated, they will not make much of a dent. Access to decent food sources and opportunities to maintain a health-promoting lifestyle should not be so hard to come by, even in less than affluent communities.

If government can afford to subsidize big industries – and let’s face it, allowing fast food places to accept food stamps is ultimately a subsidy program for the corporations who own them – it can also show some support for small produce farms. Our taxes would be well spent by keeping healthy nutrition affordable for everyone and by investing in our local agriculture at the same time. Food stamps should be made welcome at all farmers markets and urban farms. We also need more grocery outlets in the so-called “food deserts,” the underserved communities in many inner cities.

These are not revolutionary ideas and they are not hard to implement. What is missing, mostly, is enough political will.

Timi Gustafson R.D. is a clinical dietitian and author of “The Healthy Diner – How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun™,” which is available on her blog http://www.timigustafson.com and at amazon.com. Her latest book, “Kids Love Healthy Foods™” is now available in e-book format, also at www.amazon.com﻿