6 Simple Facts Explaining SNAP, Food Stamps
You often hear the term, but do you know what SNAP is? Here are six things you should know about this program that started during the Great Depression.
A federal judge on Monday, June 22, struck down rules restricting food stamp recipients from purchasing certain “unhealthy” foods, dealing a blow to a program touted by the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in favor of five plaintiffs who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, arguing that new rules imposed in five states can limit access to food and impact families managing conditions such as diabetes.
Jackson said the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the program federally, does not have the authority to approve states’ requests to impose limits on what SNAP benefits can buy, excluding things like soft drinks and sugary foods.
In his ruling, Jackson specifically singled out Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, saying her actions encouraging and approving participation in the “food restriction” exemption program bypassed proper channels and contradicted Congress’ definition of what constitutes “food.”
“Federal defendants and states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices in their stores, and they can take lawful steps to achieve those goals,” Jackson said. “But what they must not do is violate the law or their own regulations along the way.”
SNAP “Dietary Waiver” Program
Mr. Rollins, along with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., encouraged states to apply for exemptions from food restrictions, touting the move as another pillar of the movement to “make America healthy again.”
According to the USDA, President Kennedy’s provision of federal funding for local health care costs, subject to food restriction exemptions, further encouraged states to take steps to “limit purchases of non-nutritious items such as soda and candy.”
Limiting what can be purchased with SNAP benefits based on what is “healthy” has long been a popular topic among politicians, but critics say there is little evidence that such rules improve health outcomes and have expressed concern about inconsistent and subjective definitions of what is “nutritious” or “healthy.”
“The court’s decision is a major step toward restoring essential food assistance to millions of families across the country who rely on SNAP,” Katherine Diebler Meadows, a plaintiffs’ attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, told Reuters.
The USDA defended the program after the ruling and indicated it would move forward with attempts to restrict it.
“The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be moot,” the Department of Agriculture said in a statement to Reuters. “The Department of Agriculture will not back down from the fight to make America healthy again, including the families and communities that rely on SNAP.”
5 states’ SNAP rules struck down by judge
The ruling specifically applies to pilot programs in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, although USDA data shows a total of 23 states have applied for exemptions. Exemptions vary by state, but primarily limit the purchase of “sugar-sweetened” products such as soda and candy. Each has a different definition of what items are prohibited.
Before the judgment is issued,
- colorado Banned SNAP users from purchasing soft drinks.
- iowa Soft drinks, sweetened beverages, candy, certain sweetened foods, and other processed foods are prohibited.
- nebraska It would ban the purchase of soda, soft drinks and energy drinks, and add candy.
- tennessee Purchases of processed foods and beverages such as carbonated drinks, energy drinks, and candy were prohibited.
- west virginia The purchase of soda was prohibited.
Other states with SNAP food restrictions
The Jackson decision applies specifically to the five states listed above, raising questions about the enforceability of the exemption in 18 other states that have applied or implemented their own restrictions.
USDA has approved exemptions in 18 additional states that prohibit the purchase of the following products:
- Arkansas: Sodas, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% fruit juice, energy drinks, unhealthy drinks, and candy.
- Florida: Sodas, energy drinks, candies, and prepared desserts
- Hawaii: soft drinks
- Idaho: soda and candy
- Indiana: soft drinks and candy
- Kansas: candy and soft drinks
- Louisiana: Soft drinks, energy drinks, candy
- Missouri: candy, prepared desserts, and certain unhealthy drinks
- Montana: High sugar drinks, energy drinks, candies, and prepared desserts
- Nevada: candy and sugary drinks
- North Dakota: Sweet drinks, energy drinks, candy
- Ohio: sweetened drinks
- Oklahoma: soft drinks and candy
- South Carolina: Candies, energy drinks, soft drinks, and sweetened beverages
- Texas: sweet drinks and sweets
- Utah: soft drinks
- Virginia: sweet drinks
- Wyoming: sweetened carbonated drinks
The Trump administration made major changes to SNAP.
For 60 years, the USDA under presidents of both parties has rejected requests from states to limit SNAP foods, saying they cannot waive the definition of “food” for purchase with SNAP benefits that Congress established in law, USA TODAY previously reported.
The Trump administration began granting exemptions in 2025, even though the law remains unchanged, citing authority for pilot projects to test the health and nutritional effects of excluding some foods.
The waivers are just part of the administration’s sweeping changes to the nation’s largest nutrition assistance program, which as of March 2026 supported more than 37 million low-income Americans.
Passed in July 2025, President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will cut SNAP funding by an estimated $186 billion by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. It also added new restrictions to the program, including expanded work requirements. In early June, another judge blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new conditions for states to receive billions of dollars in SNAP funds, including provisions on immigration, “gender ideology” and “equal athletic opportunity” for women and girls.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that about 4 million people lost benefits between July 2025 and March 2026 as a result. At least 808,000 of those deaths were children, based on data from 13 states.
To qualify for SNAP, a household must be below 130% of the poverty line. That means they earn more than 30% more than the federal poverty guidelines ($15,960 per single person in 2026). $27,320 for a three-person household. $38,680 for a five-person household. Many of the beneficiaries are the elderly, people with disabilities, and children.
SNAP benefits are determined by the state and funded by the USDA. To maintain eligibility, recipients must recertify periodically. Benefits are typically only provided for three months out of a 36-month period unless additional work-related requirements apply. Approved recipients will have a limited timeline to access benefits.
Contributor: Reuters; Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY
