If you're a SNAP recipient in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, or West Virginia, your grocery shopping just got more complicated. As of Thursday, these five states rolled out new restrictions that bar the use of food stamp benefits for soda, candy, and other sugary items. It's the first wave of state waivers aimed at improving nutrition among program participants.
What's Actually Banned
The specifics vary by state. Indiana is restricting soft drinks and candy. Iowa went all-in with the most extensive limitations. Nebraska banned soda and energy drinks. Utah and West Virginia are prohibiting soda and soft drinks. State officials justify the changes as a strategy to combat obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related health problems.
Checkout Chaos
Theory meets reality at the cash register, and it's not going smoothly. Grocery stores are reporting longer lines as cashiers wrestle with point-of-sale systems trying to figure out what's allowed and what's not.
Kate Bauer, a nutrition science expert at the University of Michigan, didn't mince words: "It's a disaster waiting to happen of people trying to buy food and being rejected."
SNAP recipients are feeling the impact directly. Marc Craig, 47, from Des Moines put it bluntly: "They treat people that get food stamps like we're not people." He's trying to figure out how to make his $298 monthly SNAP benefits work under these new constraints.
Federal Funding Freeze Adds to Confusion
Meanwhile, the Trump administration threw another wrench into the works earlier this month by halting federal aid to Democrat-led states including California, New York, and Minnesota. The reason? These states refused to hand over identifying information on SNAP beneficiaries. According to Rollins, the funds stay frozen until states comply with efforts to prevent fraud.
This isn't the first recent SNAP headache either. Last month, recipients faced confusion after the USDA ordered states to reverse course on issuing full benefits following conflicting court orders. Some states like Colorado and Illinois ended up distributing partial benefits, though people who'd already received full payments got to keep them.