Shoppers slam ‘food police’ who are ‘sucking joy out of life’ after 12 states launch grocery store snack ban

SEVERAL states have now joined a grocery store ban involving select food and drinks.

The rule is causing controversy among consumers, and it directly impacts those with lower incomes.

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Certain sugary drinks and foods face a ban (stock image)[/caption]

Earlier this week, the Trump administration confirmed that 12 states in total were now restricting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries from getting processed food and drinks at retailers, per The Hill.

Six new states were added to the list this month, including Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia.

The first six were Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah.

It’s important to note that exact restrictions differ from state to state, and most don’t fully go into effect until 2026.

All 12 have SNAP restrictions on soda and sweetened drinks, but others, like Florida and Lousiana have expanded bans on energy drinks and candy, per Straight Arrow News.

Colorado was also the first predominantly blue, or Democrat, state to adopt the ban for processed foods and drinks concerning SNAP recipients.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized that SNAP is meant to be used for nutritious and health-conscious groceries.

“SNAP is a supplemental nutrition program meant to provide healthy food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget so they can afford the nutritious food essential to health and well-being,” Rollins said in a statement.

“That is the stated purpose of the SNAP program, the law states it and President Trump’s USDA plans to deliver on it.”

In May, Rollins had already approved a federal waiver for Nebraska to ban soda and energy drinks from being eligible to purchase with food stamps.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has also applauded the efforts to ban less nutritious items as part of the Make America Healthy Again campaign.

“US taxpayers should not be paying to feed kids foods, the poorest kids in our country, with foods that are going to give them diabetes,” Kennedy said.

“And then my agency ends up, through Medicaid and Medicare, paying for those injuries.”

“We’re going to put an end to that, and we’re doing it step by step, state by state,” he added.

NATIONWIDE ROLLOUT?

US Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary has also said he “hopes to see all 50 states join this bold commonsense approach.”

“For too long, the root causes of our chronic disease epidemic have been addressed with lip service only,” Makary argued.

Even with the bans, some researchers have argued that restrictions on SNAP benefits are not likely to change eating patterns, per a 2017 testimony before the House Committee on Agriculture from economic policy researcher Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach.

Schanzenbach also argued that it would cost the government some serious money to track the 650,000 food and beverage items currently available and 20,000 new options introduced every year.

MIXED FEELINGS

News of the bans has also garnered a mixed response from shoppers, with some being for it.

“Good it’s there for nourishing foods and drinks, you can’t live on candy bars and pop,” a consumer argued in a Facebook thread.

“It’s about time they did this,” another echoed.

Others blasted the SNAP restrictions as a major overstep from the USDA.

“Is this freedom? North Korea also limits what you’re allowed to eat,” a shopper commented.

“Yeah well kids deserve treats…ridiculous,” someone else added.

“So children don’t deserve snacks or a birthday cake? How insensitive. They act like that’s all that’s bought with SNAP,” wrote a third.

A fuming shopper also claimed it would be like “sucking the fun out of life” for SNAP recipients.

At least four states have also expanded laws banning another common grocery item this summer.

Twelve states also implemented a new law on July 1 that bans a common product at restaurant chains and stores, with violators facing a $50 daily fine.