Authored by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),Food stamp recipients in Florida, Texas, and West Virginia will face restrictions on buying certain kinds of less nutritious items such as soda and candy, some starting in April.A sign on the window of a grocery store in the Flatbush neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Oct. 30, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty ImagesWest Virginia’s restrictions became effective on Jan. 1, but retailers have until April 1 to be fully compliant.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved Colorado’s restrictions waiver, but the state has delayed implementation of restrictions on certain items for food stamp recipients until after April 30 and stated that it would have a final vote on April 3 on the program.The Trump administration is clamping down on soda and candy being charged to food stamps, as 22 states now have been approved to restrict certain purchases under the program. The restrictions still require state approval before taking effect.Kansas, Nevada, Ohio, and Wyoming were the latest states to receive USDA approval for food and beverage restrictions.The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, had 40.7 million people participating nationwide at a monthly cost of $7.97 billion as of November 2025.“The Trump Administration is leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” the USDA stated on its website. “USDA is empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs by approving SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that restrict the purchase of 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.”For example, starting on April 1, Texas residents will not be able to buy candy or sweetened drinks on their SNAP-provided Lone Star Cards. Those restrictions will ban such purchases as candy bars, gum, and taffy, as well as nuts, raisins, or fruits that have been “candied, crystallized, glazed or coated with chocolate, yogurt or caramel.”Texas also will ban sweetened non-alcoholic beverages made with water that contain 5 or more grams of sugar or artificial sweetener, according to Texas Health and Human Services.The USDA also maintains the Restaurant Meals Program in nine states, including New York and California, which allows eligible participants to use their SNAP debit card at qualified fast food restaurants. Those restaurants include such food chains as KFC, Subway, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Popeyes. To be eligible for the program, participants must be 60 years of age or older, disabled, homeless, or the spouse of a SNAP client who is eligible for the Restaurant Meals Program.The Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group, is opposed to SNAP benefit restrictions on items such as candy and soda.“State efforts to restrict what SNAP recipients can buy with their benefits are expanding across the country—despite evidence that they are harmful, burdensome, and ineffective,” the Food Research & Action Center stated on its website.The organization said that the modifications of such programs are time-consuming and “fiscally irresponsible” and that research shows that “SNAP participants eat no differently than other Americans.”The Food Research & Action Center stated: “Policing food choices is ineffective, undermines American values, and worsens food insecurity. The real solution is strengthening SNAP with adequate benefits, access to healthy foods, and proven produce incentives.”The USDA also offers a SNAP healthy incentive program that provides coupons, discounts, gift cards, and bonus food or extra money to participants who purchase specified healthy foods.
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