For decades, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program let recipients buy nearly any food or beverage sold in a grocery store, soda and candy included. That is changing state by state. Under authority expanded during the current administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved a wave of waivers that let states pull sugary drinks and candy off the list of items food stamps can cover, and eighteen states now have active restrictions on the books. For older recipients on fixed incomes, the shift narrows what a monthly benefit will and will not buy at the register.
What a food-restriction waiver actually does
SNAP is a federal program, so states cannot rewrite the eligible-food list on their own. They must ask the USDA for a waiver. The agency’s food-restriction waiver page frames the approvals as a push to steer benefit dollars toward more nutritious options, and it tracks each state’s request on a live map. Where a waiver is in force, a cashier’s system blocks the restricted items from being paid for with an EBT card, while the rest of a household’s groceries still ring up normally.
The definitions vary by state. Some waivers cover only soda and other sweetened beverages, while others add candy, energy drinks, and prepared desserts. A shopper in one state may find candy still eligible while a neighbor across a state line does not.
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How the count landed at eighteen
The USDA has actually signed off on 23 state waivers, but the number in effect is smaller. On June 22, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in Aragon v. Rollins, ordered that the agency’s approvals be vacated for a group of states, halting implementation in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Removing those five leaves eighteen states with approved waivers that are unblocked and moving forward. The agency’s own waiver table flags each vacated approval with the court’s language and instructs retailers in those states to stop putting the restrictions in place.
Which states are already enforcing the rules
Among the eighteen, the restrictions are not all live on the same day. Indiana and Utah set the earliest implementation dates, at the start of 2026, followed by states including Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida through the spring. Others have target dates later in 2026 or in 2027, with a handful, such as Nevada, not scheduled to begin until 2028. Some states restrict only soft drinks, while others, including several with 2027 start dates, extend the ban to candy and prepared desserts. The practical takeaway for a benefit recipient is that the rules depend on both the state and the calendar.
What the change means for older shoppers
Roughly a fifth of SNAP participants are age 60 or older, and for many the program covers the bulk of a grocery budget. A restriction on soda and candy does not cut the dollar amount of a benefit, but it does change where those dollars can go. Households that regularly bought sweetened drinks with an EBT card will need to cover them with other money or drop them from the cart. Because the restricted-item lists differ so widely, recipients who cross state lines to shop, or who move, can encounter a different set of rules without warning.
Retailers carry much of the operational load, updating point-of-sale systems so restricted items are flagged. Errors at that stage can leave a shopper surprised at checkout when an item that qualified last month no longer does.
A policy still in motion
The waiver program remains a moving target. More states have applications pending, and the June court ruling shows that approvals can be undone after the fact, so the roster of eighteen is a snapshot rather than a settled total. The USDA continues to publish each state’s status, target date, and the specific items covered, which is the most reliable place to confirm what a benefit will buy in a given state. For older recipients, the durable point is that food assistance is no longer a blanket pass on every item in the store, and the exact boundaries now depend on where a household lives and how far along that state’s rollout has progressed.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
