Soda, candy cut for many SNAP users starting Jan. 1. What states are affected?

Millions of SNAP recipients are about to face new limitations on what they can use the federal assistance program to buy, including bans on soda, energy drinks and candy, according to ⁠the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

At least 18 states will implement changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the new year, according to the USDA. First up in January: Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia.

The remaining 13 states will make changes later in the year. 

"The Trump Administration is leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," the USDA said in a statement about the upcoming changes.

The agency said the move "is ‍empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs" by restricting "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," the USDA said.

The changes to the food assistance programs come months after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the chief proponent of the Make America Healthy Again movement, suggested that he would work with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to limit access to ​certain foods under SNAP. 

"Every American who wants to eat a donut ought to be able to eat it or drink a Coke," Kennedy said in early 2025. "But the federal taxpayer should not be paying to poison our children. And we're going to end that."

Here’s what to know about the upcoming changes.

What states will be affected and when?

At least 18 states will implement changes to SNAP in 2026, according to the USDA.

Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia ​will limit what people can buy starting on Jan. 1, according to the USDA. 

The changes to SNAP largely prevent people from using the program to buy sodas, soft drinks and "sweetened beverages." Changes vary by state.

Idaho, Oklahoma and Louisiana will change what SNAP recipients can buy in February; Colorado in March; Texas, Virginia and Florida in April; Arkansas and Tennessee in July; Hawaii and South Carolina in August; North Dakota in September; and Missouri in October.

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What foods ​are out?

Changes to what people can buy using SNAP benefits will be sweeping in places.

In Iowa, the state changed its program from allowing assistance dollars to be used to buy "any food or food product for home consumption" to items that are subject to a sales tax in the state, according to a USDA letter ⁠to Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Director Larry Johnson.

The new restrictions mean SNAP ‍benefits can no longer be used to buy candy, including gum and mints; sugary drinks, such as Hi-C; trail mix that includes chocolate or candy; and prepared foods. 

New restrictions in Indiana, according to a USDA letter to Gov. Mike Braun, will stop SNAP users in the state from using program dollars on soft drinks and candy, defined as "a preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination ‌with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the form ‍of bars, drops, or pieces."

Changes in Nebraska mean SNAP recipients in the state won’t be able to use program dollars to buy energy drinks, according to the USDA.

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What are the arguments on both sides of the issue?

Proponents of the new limitations say the restrictions will encourage healthy eating habits. 

"Soaring obesity rates have brought our nation and state to a crossroads," Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in ⁠May after the USDA first approved the requested SNAP changes. "To promote healthy eating and protect future generations from disease − and to ensure SNAP fulfills its ‌core function − we need a change."

Critics say the restrictions will harm people. 

"These restrictions will do nothing to make healthy food more affordable," Luke Elzinga and Gina Plata-Nino of the Food Action & Research Center in a statement. "Instead, it will increase stigma for SNAP participants, create confusion at checkout counters, raise grocery prices for us all."

Program recipients are also wary. 

"I agree, I would love to eat vegetables, I would love to eat hamburger, but I can’t store it," Marc ⁠Craig, an unhoused Iowa man, told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network. "And if you’re in a shelter, you can’t bring ⁠in outside food."

How many people will be affected?

Millions of SNAP recipients across the 18 states will be affected by the program changes.

According to an analysis of data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, around 1.4 million will see their benefits change in January across the five states implementing new limitations.

Around 13 million people across the 18 states will see ⁠changes to their benefits in 2026, according to data from the budget and policy center, a nonpartisan research institute. 

Some 41 million people in 2024 used SNAP, making it the nation’s most significant food assistance program, according to the center.

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When did the SNAP program begin?

The history of the nutrition assistance program dates back to 1939 when the federal agency began issuing food stamps at the tail end of the Great Depression, according to the USDA.

The early food stamps program ended in 1943, according to an agency history. President John F. Kennedy initiated a new food stamp pilot program in 1961, according to the USDA. 

President Lyndon B. Johnson made the program permanent with the ⁠Food Stamp Act of 1964. 

SNAP became the program’s name as a result of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, a bill that passed over the veto of President George W. Bush.

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