NEARLY nine million more shoppers will be banned from purchasing junk food products as new regulations go into effect in six states.
As the state governments roll out laws restricting what food and drinks can be purchased using SNAP benefits, many fan-favorite products are on the chopping block.
Millions of shoppers will soon be banned from making certain junk food purchases[/caption]
State governments are rolling out laws restricting SNAP benefits from being spend on junk foods like candy and soda[/caption]
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides monthly food benefits to cash-strapped families to help them afford nutritious food.
However, these benefits – formerly known as food stamps – have historically been spent on not-so-healthy purchases, with roughly 20 cents for each $1 spent on sweetened drinks, desserts, salty snacks, candy, and sugar, per the USDA.
As a result, many states have begun cracking down on SNAP regulations in an effort to encourage their residents to make healthier food choices.
Six additional states have all had new waivers approved, enforcing new laws that ban junk foods from being purchased using SNAP benefits, the USDA announced on Monday.
The new food choice state waivers will take effect in West Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas starting in 2026.
“For years, SNAP has used taxpayer dollars to fund soda and candy – products that fuel America’s diabetes and chronic disease epidemics,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr in the Monday press release.
What are SNAP benefits?
Over 41 million people in America receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits each month.
SNAP provides food benefits to low-income households to help people get groceries.
Recipients get money on a debit card that can be used at grocery stores and farmers markets.
The amount of money distributed depends on several factors including how much money you make, how much money you receive from other benefits, and how many people are in your household.
The electronic benefits can help people buy food including food and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy products, breads, cereals, and snacks.
You can’t use SNAP to buy alcohol, cigarettes, hot foods, or cooking utensils.
Source: USDA
“These waivers help put real food back at the center of the program and empower states to lead the charge in protecting public health.”
The waivers grant states flexibility by allowing them to administer the SNAP program in different ways, including changing the definition of food that can be purchased using the electronic benefit transfer cards that are loaded each month.
Over in Florida, lawmakers plan to ban soda, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts, while in Louisiana, SNAP beneficiaries will no longer be able to purchase soft drinks, energy drinks, and candy with their EBT cards.
The food choice state waivers in Colorado and West Virginia are less restrictive, banning only soft drinks from being bought using food stamps.
Oklahoma will restrict the purchase of soft drinks and candy come 2026, and Texans on SNAP will similarly be banned from buying sweetened beverages and candies.
Before these waivers, Americans on food stamps could purchase anything except for alcohol, tobacco, hot and prepared foods, and personal care products.
Across all six states, the new SNAP limitations will affect roughly 8.5 million people.
SNAP OUT OF IT
The wave of new state waivers aligns with President Donald Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, aimed at addressing the country’s high rates of chronic disease.
New SNAP regulations
Six additional states had new food choice state waivers approved, bringing the total number of states banning certain junk food purchases using SNAP benefits to 12.
Arkansas
- Restricts purchase of soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, unhealthy drinks, and candy.
- Target implementation date: 07/01/26
Colorado
- Restricts purchase of soft drinks.
- Target implementation date: 03/01/26
Florida
- Restricts purchase of soda, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Idaho
- Restricts purchase of soda and candy.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Indiana
- Restricts purchase of soft drinks and candy.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Iowa
- Restricts all taxable food items as defined by the Iowa Department of Revenue except food producing plants and seeds for food producing plants.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Louisiana
- Restricts purchase of soft drinks, energy drinks, and candy.
- Target implementation date: 01/15/26
Nebraska
- Restricts purchase of soda and energy drinks.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Oklahoma
- Restricts purchase of soft drinks and candy.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Texas
- Restricts purchase of sweetened drinks and candy.
- Target implementation date: 04/01/26
Utah
- Restricts purchase of soft drinks.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
West Virginia
- Restricts purchase of soda.
- Target implementation date: 01/01/26
Source: USDA
The policy shift towards healthier SNAP purchases is championed by US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, both of whom have been vocal proponents of the changes.
On Rollins’ first full day in office, she sent a letter to the country’s governors sharing her vision for the USDA, inviting them to participate in a new “Laboratories of Innovation” initiative and encouraging them to request state SNAP waivers.
She previously signed waivers for Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, and Utah, bringing the total number of states restricting junk food purchases using SNAP dollars to 12.
Republican states have primarily led the movement to tighten rules around food stamp spending, with Colorado being the only Democratic state in the current lineup.
Those in favor of banning unhealthy SNAP purchases have argued that more strictly regulating the federal program will help to improve our country’s health.
Critics, on the other hand, feel as if the new changes simply control how the nation’s poorest eat, failing to address the more profound issue of providing access to affordable, healthy food.
Aside from the 12 states with approved waivers, another state is looking to pass a September bill banning another grocery staple after 51 years.
Plus, read up on why taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars under a new bill after a “payment error” linked to SNAP benefits.
