Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced six additional states have been granted waivers allowing them to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used on “junk food.”
Florida was one of the states added to the list.
Florida will join eleven other states in banning those purchases for people who use the benefits, which are also known as food stamps.
In most cases, the restrictions apply to soda and candy.
Kennedy said the move will get “health food in the hands of more low-income homes.”
However, some experts that say the changes to SNAP may not help fight diabetes and chronic disease epidemics.
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced six additional states have been granted waivers allowing them to prohibit SNAP benefits from being used on “junk food.”
Florida will join eleven other states in banning those purchases for people who use the benefits, which are also known as food stamps.
In most cases, the restrictions apply to soda and candy.
Kennedy said the move will get “health food in the hands of more low-income homes.”
However, some experts that say the changes to SNAP may not help fight diabetes and chronic disease epidemics.
“Our department has encouraged states to think differently and creatively about how to solve the many health issues facing Americans,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, and West Virginia were granted new waivers to restrict the purchase of so-called “junk food” with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting in 2026.
They join six other states that have already received the waivers.
“The US taxpayers should not be paying to feed kids foods, the poorest kids in our country with foods that are going to give them diabetes,” said Kennedy.
Of the states that have been granted waivers so far, most will restrict the use of snap funds on soft drinks or sodas while at least eight restrict candy purchases.
Some also prohibit food benefits from being used on energy drinks and, in Arkansas, the purchase of “fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice.”
Health policy expert Kavelle Christie said if healthier communities is the goal, the answer isn’t controlling grocery carts.
“These restrictions, they don’t solve hunger or improve health,” she said. “They only limit choices for people who already face barriers.”
Christie said families do want healthier foods, but they’re often inaccessible or too expensive.
“There’s also the barrier of not having places that actually sell those type of healthier food options in a lot of communities,” she said.
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