Dec. 31 (UPI) — SNAP users in some states face additional limits on what they can buy that take effect Thursday.
At least 18 states are banning sodas, sugary drinks and candy from being purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funds.
The new rules in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia. The other 13 states have later start dates.
“President Trump has made it clear: we are restoring SNAP to its true purpose — nutrition. Under the [Make America Healthy Again] initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic diseases epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a statement.
“America’s governors are answering that call with courage and innovation, offering solutions that honor the generosity of the taxpayer while helping families live longer, healthier lives.
“With these new waivers, we are empowering states to lead, protecting our children from the dangers of highly processed foods and moving one step closer to the President’s promise to Make America Healthy Again.”
About 42 million people, about 12% of the U.S. population, used SNAP benefits each month during the 2024 federal fiscal year, the Department of Agriculture said.
States had to request waivers from the federal government for rules governing how people can spend their SNAP benefits.
Anti-hunger advocacy group Food Research and Action said the new laws in some states are too vague and put the burden to decide what’s allowed on retailers and shoppers.
“The items list does not provide enough specific information to prepare a SNAP participant to go to the grocery store,” the group said in a Monday blog post about Iowa’s new law.
The post pointed out that while a Snickers bar is not eligible, a Twix bar is because it contains flour. It said candy-coated fruit or nuts, including barbecue-coated peanuts and yogurt-coated raisins are not allowed, but cakes and cookies are.
“These restrictions will do nothing to make healthy food more affordable,” said blog authors Luke Elzinga and Gina Plata-Nino of Food Research and Action. “Instead, it will increase stigma for SNAP participants, create confusion at checkout counters [and] raise grocery prices for us all.”
SNAP users have also expressed concern.
“I agree, I would love to eat vegetables, I would love to eat hamburger, but I can’t store it,” said Marc Craig, a homeless Iowa man, USA Today reported. “And if you’re in a shelter, you can’t bring in outside food.
Soft drinks and “sweetened beverages” will be banned in all 18 of the states, though some call them “unhealthy drinks” or add energy drinks to the list.
Candy is banned in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Iowa specifically bans any taxable food item, which eliminates vitamins and minerals. Iowans also can’t purchase drinks with 50% or less fruit or vegetable juice.
Florida and Missouri also ban “prepared desserts.”