By Leah Douglas and Christy Santhosh
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday allowed six additional states to bar participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from using their benefits to buy certain processed foods, such as sodas and candy.
The SNAP waivers for West Virginia, Florida, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas amend the statutory definition of food for purchase and put an end to the subsidization of popular types of junk food beginning in 2026.
The administration of President Donald Trump has encouraged all states to take such measures as part of its “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, named for the social movement led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The USDA had so far signed waivers to allow six states — Arkansas, Idaho, Utah, Iowa, Indiana and Nebraska — to place similar purchasing restrictions on SNAP recipients.
“I hope to see all 50 states join this bold commonsense approach. For too long, the root causes of our chronic disease epidemic have been addressed with lip service only,” said the U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the additional waivers at an event at the USDA headquarters in Washington.
“These state waivers promote healthier options for families in need,” said Secretary Rollins.
More than 42 million people receive SNAP benefits, sometimes called food stamps, as part of the nation’s largest anti-hunger program.
The massive tax cut and spending bill signed by President Trump in July makes significant changes to the SNAP program, including expanding work requirements and shifting more spending for the program to states.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
