Starting from Thursday, January 1st, residents in five states in the United States will be prohibited from using federal food stamps to purchase items such as soda and candy, relying on government assistance for grocery shopping.
Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia are set to become the first states to implement such bans. Currently, at least 18 states across the US have enacted similar restrictions, excluding soda, energy drinks, candy, and some other foods from the federal food stamp program.
The program commonly known as food stamps, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), is the largest food assistance program in the US, benefiting around 42 million Americans.
The move to prohibit the use of food stamps to buy certain foods is being spearheaded by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, urging states to remove unhealthy foods from this federal program, which has an annual budget of $100 billion.
These measures aim to reduce chronic diseases associated with sugary drinks and snacks, such as obesity and diabetes, and are also a key goal of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign led by Kennedy.
The food stamp program is managed by the US Department of Agriculture and administered through individual states. The relevant policies were first established in 1964 and later authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. This law stipulates that federal food stamps can be used to purchase “any food or food product for human consumption,” with the exception of tobacco, alcohol, and hot prepared foods.
Generally, households with total income equal to or below 130% of the federal poverty line, around $33,500 annual income for a family of three, are eligible for this benefit.
The restriction on purchasing policies that went into effect on January 1, 2026, in these five states will affect approximately 1.4 million SNAP beneficiaries. Utah and West Virginia will prohibit the use of food stamps to buy soda and soft drinks, Nebraska will ban purchases of soda and energy drinks, while Indiana will impose restrictions on soft drinks and candy.
Iowa’s regulations are the strictest, limiting the purchase of items like soda, candy, and certain pre-packaged foods.
The US Department of Agriculture stated that the restrictions on SNAP currently in effect and those to be implemented in the coming months will last for two years and can be extended for an additional three years. Each state must assess the impact of these changes.
【This article is based on reports from The Associated Press】