SNAP junk food ban comes into force Jan 1 and it will have a knock-on effect for all shoppers
Warning issued over new SNAP junk food ban going into effect in days
- Five US states – Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia – are implementing new restrictions on foods purchasable with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, effective Thursday.
- The waivers, championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, aim to ban "unhealthy" items like soda and candy to combat chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
- Utah and West Virginia are banning the use of SNAP to buy soda and soft drinks while Nebraska will prohibit soda and energy drinks. Indiana will ban soft drinks and candy and in Iowa, which has the most restrictive rules to date, the SNAP limits affect taxable foods, including soda and candy, but also certain prepared foods.
- The National Retail Federation warned the ban could lead to longer checkout lines and more customer complaints as SNAP recipients learn which foods are affected by the new waivers, with Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan, additionally stating, “It’s a disaster waiting to happen of people trying to buy food and being rejected.”
- Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP director for the anti-hunger advocacy group Food Research & Action Center, issued a separate warning, saying, “Punishing SNAP recipients means we all get to pay more at the grocery store.”