Dive Brief:
- Earlier this month, the Navajo Nation passed a junk food and soda tax, but backlash is brewing from some residents.
- Half of the Navajo tribe is unemployed, and these community members say that they don't have the money to spend on healthier, often more expensive food. This is despite the fact that the tribe also dropped a 5% sales tax on fresh produce.
- Grassroots activist Denisa Livingston, a spokeswoman for the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance, which pushed for the tax, said that "the tax will make people drive off the reservation to go to a decent grocery store," according to NPR.
Dive Insight:
The tax was meant to deter community members from buying so much junk food and soda in a region that has been labeled a "food desert" for its lack of access to healthy foods. One survey reported that about 80% of inventory for the few grocery stores in the area is comprised of what is considered to be junk food. The obesity rates in the Navajo Nation are nearly three times the national average, and according to the Indian Health Service, one in three Navajo members has diabetes, NPR reported.