SNAP bans on soda, candy and other foods take effect in five states Jan. 1

Starting Thursday, Americans in five states who get government help to pay for groceries will see new restrictions on the sodas, candy and other foods they can buy with those benefits.

Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia are the first of at least 18 states to enact exemptions prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

It’s part of a campaign by Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge states to remove foods deemed unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program — long known as food stamps — that serves 42 million Americans.

“We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay back to treat the diseases those same programs help create,” Kennedy said in a statement in December.

These efforts aim to reduce chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes associated with sugary drinks and other sweets, a major goal of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” effort.

But retail industry and health policy experts said state SNAP programs, already under pressure from steep budget cuts, are unprepared for the complex changes, with lack of complete lists of affected foods and technical point-of-sale challenges that vary by state and store. Research remains mixed on whether restricting SNAP purchases improves diet quality and health.

The National Retail Federation, a trade association, expects longer checkout lines and more customer complaints as SNAP recipients learn which foods are affected by the new exemptions.

“It’s a disaster waiting to happen when people try to buy food and are turned away,” said Kate Power, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan.

A report by the National Grocers Association and other industry trade groups estimated that implementing SNAP restrictions would cost U.S. retailers $1.6 billion initially and $759 million each year going forward.

“Punishing SNAP recipients means we will all pay more at the grocery store,” said Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP director for the anti-hunger research group Food. and work center.

The waivers are a departure from decades of federal policy first enacted in 1964 and then allowed by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which stipulates that SNAP benefits can be used for “any food or food product intended for human consumption,” with the exception of alcohol and hot, ready-to-eat foods. The law also states that SNAP cannot pay for tobacco.

In the past, lawmakers have proposed prohibiting SNAP from paying for expensive meats like steak or so-called junk foods, like potato chips and ice cream.

But previous exemption requests were denied based on USDA research that concluded the restrictions would be expensive and complicated to implement, and that they might not change recipients’ purchasing habits or reduce health problems such as obesity.

But under the second Trump administration, countries were encouraged, even incentivized, to request waivers – and they responded.

“This is not the usual top-down, one-size-fits-all public health agenda,” Indiana Gov. Mike Brown said when he announced his state’s order last spring. “We focus on root causes, transparent information and real results.”

The five state waivers that take effect Jan. 1 affect about 1.4 million people. Utah and West Virginia will ban the use of SNAP to purchase sodas and sodas, while Nebraska will ban sodas and energy drinks. Indiana will target soft drinks and candy. In Iowa, which has the most restrictive rules yet, SNAP limits affect taxable foods, including soda and candy, but also some prepared foods.

“The list of items does not provide enough specific information to prepare a SNAP participant to go to the grocery store,” Plata Nino wrote in a blog post. “Several additional items will also be banned – including some prepared foods – although these are not clearly identified in the notice to households.”

Mark Craig, 47, of Des Moines, said he has been living in his car since October. He said the new exemptions will make it more difficult to decide how to use the $298 in SNAP benefits he receives each month, while increasing the stigma he feels at the cash register.

“They treat people who get food stamps like we’re not human beings,” Craig said.

SNAP waivers enacted now and in the coming months will last for two years, with an option to extend them for an additional three years, according to the Department of Agriculture. Each country must evaluate the impact of the changes.

Anand Parekh, chief policy officer at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, said health experts worry that the waivers ignore larger factors that affect the health of SNAP recipients.

He said, “This does not solve the two basic problems, which are that healthy food in this country is not accessible to everyone, and that unhealthy food is cheap and spread everywhere.”