North Dakota’s plan to bar soda and candy from purchases made with food-assistance benefits will not begin on the schedule the state first set. Officials have moved the start date to Nov. 1 after federal regulators pointed to a court decision that struck down similar restrictions elsewhere. For the North Dakotans who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — a group that includes many older adults and people with disabilities — the delay means the rules on what benefits can and cannot buy stay unchanged for now.
What was postponed, and to when
The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services pushed the waiver’s start date to Nov. 1, moving it back from a Sept. 1 launch that was to be followed by a three-month grace period so retailers could update their checkout systems. The waiver would stop SNAP dollars from being spent on soda and candy specifically; it does not change eligibility for the program or the size of a household’s monthly benefit. Until the new date arrives, shoppers using SNAP in North Dakota can continue to buy those items as before.
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The court decision that triggered the delay
The postponement followed an Aug. 25 letter from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to state officials that referenced a recent federal court case. In that case, a court struck down comparable SNAP purchase restrictions in five states, faulting the USDA for approving them without first publishing formal notice and taking public comment as required. The delay in North Dakota, in other words, is procedural rather than a reversal of the policy itself: the state and the federal agency are pausing to address the process the court said was missing, not abandoning the restriction. The USDA had originally approved North Dakota’s request in December 2025.
What SNAP can and cannot buy right now
Under the standing federal rules, SNAP benefits can be used for most foods and drinks, including soda and candy, along with staples like bread, produce, meat, and dairy. The program cannot be used for alcohol, tobacco, hot prepared foods meant to be eaten in the store, or non-food items such as household supplies. States that want to carve soda and candy out of that list must obtain a food-restriction waiver from the USDA, which is the exact mechanism now caught up in litigation. The federal list of eligible food items remains the operative rule in North Dakota until the state’s waiver actually takes effect.
Where the broader state push stands
North Dakota is one of a growing number of states that have sought to restrict soda and candy from SNAP, part of a wave of waiver requests over the past year. Some of those restrictions have taken effect, while others have been delayed by the same court challenge now affecting North Dakota. The state had additional reasons to pursue the change: officials tied it in part to qualifying for federal money under a rural health funding program. For SNAP households, though, the near-term reality is simpler. The list of what benefits can buy has not changed, the new start date is Nov. 1, and whether even that date holds will depend on how the notice-and-comment questions the court raised are resolved.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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