SAN FRANCISCO – In April, the Navajo Nation will become the first jurisdiction in the United States to impose a sales tax on pastries, chips, soft drinks, desserts, fried foods, sweetened beverages and other products with "minimal to no nutritional value" sold within the borders of the reservation, reports Mother Jones.

The 2% sales tax will be added to the standard 5% sales tax in the Navajo Nation, resulting in a total 7% tax on “junk food.”

The news source notes that the legislation, authored by the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance (DCAA), a grassroots organization of community volunteers, was modeled on existing taxes on tobacco and alcohol, as well as other fat and sugar tax initiatives outside of the United States. Last spring the Navajo Nation passed an amendment that removed a 5% tribal sales tax on fresh fruits and vegetables.

According to a 2014 Diné Policy Institute report, 10 grocery stores were available on the entire Navajo reservation, which straddles parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Mother Jones reports that as a result, many residents were relying on food stamps and stretching their grocery dollars with less-expensive and less-healthy food options.

Denisa Livingston, a community health advocate with the DCAA, leads grocery store tours in Arizona to educate government officials and the community about how the layout and inventory of local markets affects consumer buying. "I've been telling the councils, food can either empower us and make us strong, or it can kill us," she told the news source, adding, "Healthy food is not just our tradition, it's our identity. This is the start of a return to food sovereignty."

Opponents of the measure said that the legislation would place undue burdens on consumers and drive revenues off the reservation into surrounding areas.  Mother Jones notes that after multiple revisions, the sales tax finally gained support from the council with the added concession that the 2% sales tax would expire in 2020.