$188 Monthly SNAP Benefit Faces New Junk Food Restrictions in Four States

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides an average of $188 per month to each of its more than 42 million beneficiaries, a figure that becomes central to a new policy dispute beginning November 1. On that date, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia will activate restrictions preventing recipients from using their federal food assistance benefits to purchase specific items, primarily soda, energy drinks, and candy. These four states join a growing list of jurisdictions that have secured waivers to limit what SNAP dollars can buy.

The federal program, which costs between $101.7 billion and $102.6 billion per fiscal year, is administered by states but funded by the U.S. government. Benefits are loaded onto Electronic Benefit Transfer cards that recipients use to pay for groceries. Until now, the list of eligible foods was broad. The new rules narrow that scope, barring purchases of what the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies as non-nutritious items. The restrictions vary slightly by state, but the core prohibitions remain consistent across the four new adopters.

This expansion follows a series of waivers granted earlier in the year to Indiana, Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Arkansas. Nebraska is scheduled to implement similar restrictions later this year. Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Hawaii are set to begin their bans in 2027, while Nevada will follow in 2028. The rollout has been complicated by legal challenges. In June, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson vacated the USDA’s approval of the pilot program for five other states, ruling that the agency lacked the authority under federal law to approve such bars.

Judge Jackson’s decision sided with plaintiffs who argued the restrictions would undermine access to food. The ruling temporarily paused plans in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Despite that legal friction, the administration has continued to push the initiative forward under its Make America Healthy Again program. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have publicly endorsed the waivers, framing them as a return to nutritional standards.

In a release, Secretary Rollins stated that the waivers promote healthier options for families in need. Secretary Kennedy emphasized that taxpayer dollars should not fund products that contribute to chronic disease epidemics. He described the waivers as a way to put real food back at the center of the program. The USDA describes its role as empowering states with more flexibility to manage their local SNAP operations.

The program operates through a system where federal funds are sent to states, which then determine eligibility and load benefits onto prepaid cards. Recipients use these cards at authorized retail locations. The new restrictions change what those cards can purchase in the four states starting this week. The total number of states with active or scheduled bans has expanded to include these four, marking a shift in how the federal government permits states to define eligible food items.