Judge Blocks States From Banning Soda and Candy Purchases With SNAP Benefits

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration and several states from restricting what Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients can buy with their benefits. The order prevents the use of SNAP funds for soda, candy and other items the administration had labeled unhealthy. U.S.

District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rescinded the approvals the U.S. Department of Agriculture had granted to states seeking to limit eligible purchases. States had requested waivers from existing USDA policy that sets out what SNAP benefits can purchase.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday on X that an activist judge had blocked a commonsense restriction. She added that SNAP is for food, not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families. Opponents say the limits would increase stigma around the program and lead to discrimination against recipients.

Kate W. Bauer, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan, wrote that reinforcing the idea SNAP participants cannot be trusted to choose food would intensify discrimination. "By reinforcing the narrative that SNAP participants can’t be trusted to make food choices for their families, I have no doubt that this discrimination will intensify," Bauer stated.

She noted that randomized controlled trials found soda purchases may drop under restrictions, but there were no meaningful differences in individuals’ overall diets.