Why SNAP soda and candy bans are controversial

A federal judge on Monday blocked bans, by the Trump administration and several states, on the use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy soda, candy and other foods consider unhealthy.

Late last year, a push by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urged states to strip some foods from the $100 billion federal program. The move came in tandem with Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and he has praised the move to restrict SNAP purchases.

Several states last year requested that the federal government allow them to go around U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy setting out what SNAP benefits can purchase, which the agency approved, according to a court filing. In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson rescinded those approvals.

In response to the ruling, Rollins said Tuesday in a post on the social platform X that “an activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.”

“SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families.”

The moves have come in tandem with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, and Kennedy has praised the move to........

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