SNAP bans soda and candy in 5 states starting Jan. 1

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Starting Jan. 1, people using SNAP benefits in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia will face new restrictions on what they can purchase at the grocery store, with state waivers narrowing the list of eligible items. The changes take effect in the first five states that have received approval to prohibit certain foods through SNAP, the federal program widely known as food stamps.

The effort is tied to the administration’s health agenda, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins encouraging states to strip foods they regard as unhealthy from the roughly $100 billion SNAP program. Kennedy said in a December statement that the approach is aimed at ending “a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create,” linking the policy to a broader goal of reducing chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Federal law that has long governed SNAP generally allows benefits to be used for “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” with exceptions for alcohol and ready-to-eat hot foods, and the law bars SNAP payments for tobacco. The new waivers represent a departure from that decades-long framework, expanding the set of items states can restrict beyond earlier waiver efforts that sought to limit categories like expensive meats and so-called junk foods.

Under the waivers that begin Jan. 1, Utah and West Virginia will ban SNAP use for soda and soft drinks, while Nebraska will prohibit soda and energy drinks. Indiana will target soft drinks and candy. Iowa’s rules are described as the most restrictive to date, affecting taxable foods that include soda and candy, but also certain prepared foods.

The policy shift is already drawing pushback from industry groups and anti-hunger advocates who say states may not be prepared to administer the rules at scale. The National Retail Federation, a trade group, warned that the restrictions could mean longer checkout lines and more customer complaints as SNAP recipients learn which foods are affected by the new waivers.

Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan, said retailers and shoppers could face practical breakdowns once the rules start operating in stores. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen of people trying to buy food and being rejected,” Bauer said, pointing to the likelihood that customers will run into denials at the register.

Industry groups have also estimated significant implementation costs for retailers, including estimates from the National Grocers Association and other trade groups that implementing SNAP restrictions would cost retailers $1.6 billion initially and $759 million each year going forward. A separate concern raised by advocates is that the item lists may not be detailed enough for households to accurately understand what is disallowed.

Food Research & Action Center SNAP director Gina Plata-Nino said the approach amounts to punishing recipients and shifting costs to the public. “Punishing SNAP recipients means we all get to pay more at the grocery store,” Plata-Nino said, adding that the administration’s waiver documentation does not provide enough specificity for people to plan shopping trips.

Plata-Nino wrote in a blog post that “The items list does not provide enough specific information to prepare a SNAP participant to go to the grocery store.” She said that many additional items, including certain prepared foods, would also be disallowed even though they are not clearly identified in the notice provided to households.

Health experts also questioned the strategy’s ability to improve diet and health outcomes, citing broader barriers to eating well. Anand Parekh, a medical doctor and chief health policy officer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said the waivers do not address “two fundamental problems, which is healthy food in this country is not affordable and unhealthy food is cheap and ubiquitous.”

For at least some SNAP recipients, the change is expected to affect both budgeting and day-to-day shopping decisions. Marc Craig, 47, of Des Moines, said he has been living in his car since October and that the new waivers will make it harder to determine how to use his $298 in SNAP benefits each month while also increasing the stigma he feels during transactions. “They treat people that get food stamps like we’re not people,” Craig said.

Agriculture Department guidance described to states says the waivers enacted now and in the coming months will run for two years, with the option of extending them for an additional three years. Each state is also required to assess the impact of the changes after implementation.