Junk food accounts for some of the most popular purchases among Americans who receive food stamps, especially soda. The Trump administration is urging states to prevent SNAP recipients from being able to use the taxpayer-funded program for purchasing soda and candy, and almost 20 states have so far complied.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) raised a great deal of controversy in the last few months as the Democrat-induced government shutdown brought attention to immense corruption within the food stamp program, including around 500,000 double dippers and 186,000 dead people. Now the Trump administration and state politicians are ensuring reform at the state level.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a webpage with a map showing which states have so far approved SNAP Food Restriction Waivers. And why is that important? From the USDA:
USDA is empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs by approving SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda and candy. These waivers are a key step in ensuring that taxpayer dollars provide nutritious options that improve health outcomes within SNAP.
We encourage states to submit waivers that meet the unique needs in their state.
As of today, 18 states have approved the waivers. Interestingly, that includes Democrat-run Colorado and Hawaii, along with more conservative states like Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.
The other states that have approved the waivers restricting SNAP junk food purchases include Idaho, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana, South Carolina, Louisiana, and North Dakota.
Not all of the states are planning to implement the waivers immediately, however, although all of the deadlines are supposed to occur in 2026. While Utah and West Virginia will implement the changes on the first of the new year, for instance, Texas and Florida will do so in April, Louisiana in February, Colorado in March, and South Carolina and Hawaii in August. Missouri appears to have the latest deadline at Oct. 1, 2026. All of the states appear to be restricting soft drink purchases, while some are also targeting candy and dessert purchases through SNAP.
Notably, in multiple Democrat states, $250 million worth of SNAP benefits every year are used at restaurants, particularly fast food restaurants, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). Perhaps that should be the next target area for restrictions.
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As I have noted before, SNAP is set up to allow purchases of totally unnecessary food items (top SNAP purchases include soft drinks, candy, and bag snacks). It’s no wonder that 40% of food stamp recipients are obese.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said earlier this month that SNAP fraud is so rife, some people were actually receiving benefits in up to six states. She said that, since the Trump administration began cracking down, “800,000 of those 42 million have moved off of food stamps, which is hopefully the plan with better jobs, higher wages.”
Now with over 41 million people still on SNAP, up to 80% of whom are able-bodied adults who could work but choose not to, we can only hope that many hundreds of thousands more will be removed. Our national debt as of today is $38.5 trillion, and we simply cannot afford our bloated bureaucracy and excessive welfare state, which would have horrified the Founding Fathers. The more corruption, fraud, and unnecessary spending we can cut from the federal government — and state governments — the better.
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