WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge ruled that new waiver rules allowing states to restrict certain food purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) violate federal laws governing the food program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had approved requests from 23 states to implement these restrictions, which ban SNAP shoppers from purchasing soda or sweetened beverages.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed some of these waivers into action in August 2025. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a 68-page decision in favor of food stamp recipients from five waiver states who sued to stop the bans. Jackson wrote that Rollins sought to waive "the very definition of 'food' as it was laid down by Congress."

The USDA stated, "The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial." The agency also said it would not be backing down from the fight. Some states with approved waivers also restrict items like candy or energy drinks. Cindy Leung, a professor of public health nutrition at the Harvard T.C. Chan School of Public Health, said that the waivers had been proposed and accepted in rapid succession. "We went from no states having any kind of waivers to now 23 states," Leung said.

Ben Chrisinger, a professor who studies food access at Tufts University's Department of Community Health, commented on the situation. "This is pretty unprecedented both in terms of the number of states ... and the kinds of restrictions states are taking up," Chrisinger said. Leung added, "There is a lot of chaos trying to implement these policies, and that's trickling down to SNAP participants and affecting their program participation."

Several states, including Mississippi, Alabama, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, have either submitted or are in the process of submitting waivers for SNAP restrictions. Colorado, Hawaii, and Virginia, which are Democrat-controlled states, have soft drink restrictions set to be enacted in 2026. More than a dozen other state legislatures have considered laws to create their own SNAP waivers.

SNAP has a longstanding rule prohibiting the purchase of hot food. In 2004, Minnesota petitioned the USDA to implement a statewide ban on using SNAP benefits for soda or candy. Then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg requested a similar ban for sugary drinks in New York City in 2010. The USDA denied both the Minnesota and New York City requests, citing potential confusion and possible stigmatization.

The current waivers include varied and specific restrictions. For instance, Louisiana's waiver deems small chocolate candies ineligible for SNAP funds, but chocolate chips for baking are allowed. Utah's waiver defines a soft drink as any nonalcoholic beverage made with carbonated water, meaning carbonated lemonade is not allowed for SNAP purchase while regular lemonade is. Under Iowa's waiver, the permissibility of a slice of ready-to-eat cake may depend on whether a fork is provided with it. In many states with waivers, sweet drinks are allowed if they contain a small amount of milk, and candy is allowed if it includes flour.