Soda and candy ban from SNAP products: These states want to prohibit junk food from being bought with food stamps

Although President Donald Trump is a lover of Diet Coke, members of his administration are looking to curtail access to soda and other foods high in sugar.

As a part of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins are working together to encourage states to implement rules prohibiting SNAP beneficiaries from purchasing certain foods.

SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is managed by the USDA but administered at the state level. States looking to impose restrictions on what SNAP benefit holders could purchase would need a waiver from the federal government, and Trump administration officials have said they are prepared to distribute them.

The states looking to ban the purchase of soda and candy with SNAP benefits

In addition to efforts in Congress that would prohibit the purchase of soft drinks, candy, ice cream, or prepared desserts, such as cakes, pies, cookies, and other similar products with SNAP benefits, GOP-led states are passing their own legislation. These laws will still require waivers from the USDA, but the Trump administration has made clear that it intends to provide them.

Idaho’s legislature passed a bill, signed into law by Governor Brad Little on Tuesday, that would bar SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soda.

Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen (R) was the first leader to bypass his state’s legislature, sending a letter to request an exemption to Secretary Rollins on April 7.

Over the last week, similar actions have been taken by the governors of Indiana and Arkansas, and are being considered by states including Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

Critics warn that banning soda don’t address the central issues that lead to unhealthy eating

Around 42 million benefit from SNAP, and critics of the proposal have said that it fails to address the root causes of unhealthy eating, interferes with individual choice, and paternalizes beneficiaries.

“While improving dietary quality within SNAP is a shared objective, imposing restrictions without addressing broader systemic barriers is unlikely to achieve meaningful public health improvements and may harm the individuals the program is designed to support,” said the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics said in a statement when the admisntration announced that the waivers would be approved.

Additionally, studies published by the USDA have found that consumption habits at the supermarket are similar for SNAP and non-SNAP households, including soda, candy, and other snacks high in fat and sugar.

Critics would not argue that households on or off SNAP should drink more soda; the opposite is likely true. Nevertheless, prohibiting one group from purchasing it, cast as an action that is for their own good, is paternalistic, particularly when consumption rates are similar among both groups.

In a rare moment of unity, food justice advocates and beverage industry leaders have found themselves on the same side of the issue. On Tuesday, the industry group, American Beverage, attacked the announcement that the USDA would be issuing waivers to exclude soda purchases in Arkansas.

“It’s disappointing that Govenror Sanders and Secretary Rollins are choosing to be the food police rather than take significant steps to lift people off SNAP with good-paying jobs,” said the group on X. Food justice advocates would argue that the very businesses represented by American Beverage and other major companies hold that power to increase the wages of their workers.

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