SNAP (FOOD STAMPS) RULES

SNAP Soda and Candy Restrictions by State: Start Dates and Court Status

By O.B. · As of October 15, 2026, from USDA’s waiver list (updated October 13, 2026)

USDA has approved waivers in 18 states that stop SNAP (food stamp) benefits from being used for soda, candy or similar items. Eight of those start dates had passed by October 15, 2026. Four more start on November 1, 2026: Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia. USDA’s October 13, 2026 update moved Ohio’s start from November 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027. A June 22, 2026 court order blocked the approvals in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia, and Nebraska’s new request is still waiting for USDA’s decision.

Starting November 1, 2026

  • Montana: high-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts. Montana DPHHS also gives Nov. 1, 2026.
  • North Dakota: sweetened beverages, energy drinks, and candy. ND HHS says the start was moved from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1, 2026.
  • South Carolina: candy, energy drinks, soft drinks, and sweetened beverages. SCDSS gives the revised date as November 1, 2026.
  • Virginia: sweetened beverages. Virginia DSS lists soda, diet and zero-sugar soda and carbonated energy drinks among the items no longer SNAP-eligible from November 1, 2026.

Ohio moved to April 1, 2027. Ohio’s waiver (sugar-sweetened beverages and all fountain drinks) was also listed for November 1, 2026 until USDA’s October 13, 2026 update changed the date to April 1, 2027. ODJFS says the ban, first set for Oct. 1, 2026, is on hold at USDA’s request and that it will share the details once they are known.

Each state defines the restricted items in its own way. Check your state agency’s page in the table below for the exact list before you shop.

Every state with a waiver

States not listed here have no approved or pending SNAP food restriction waiver on USDA’s map. Dates are the target start dates USDA lists. Click a state for its SNAP guide.

SNAP food restriction waivers by state (USDA FNA, page updated October 13, 2026)
StateStart date (USDA)What is restrictedStatusState agency
IndianaJanuary 1, 2026Soft drinks and candyStart date passedIndiana Smart SNAP
UtahJanuary 1, 2026Soft drinksStart date passedUtah: what you can and cannot buy with SNAP
IdahoFebruary 15, 2026Soda and candyStart date passedIdaho retailer information
OklahomaFebruary 15, 2026Soft drinks and candyStart date passedOklahoma Healthy Food Waiver
LouisianaFebruary 18, 2026Soft drinks, energy drinks, and candyStart date passedLouisiana SNAP food restriction waiver
TexasApril 1, 2026Sweetened drinks and candyStart date passedTexas SNAP food benefits
FloridaApril 20, 2026Soda, energy drinks, candy, and prepared dessertsStart date passedFL Healthy SNAP
ArkansasJuly 1, 2026Soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, energy drinks, unhealthy drinks, and candyStart date passedAR SNAP
MontanaNovember 1, 2026High-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy, and prepared dessertsApproved, starts November 1, 2026Montana SNAP food restriction waiver
North DakotaNovember 1, 2026Sweetened beverages, energy drinks, and candyApproved, starts November 1, 2026North Dakota Healthy Choice Waiver
South CarolinaNovember 1, 2026Candy, energy drinks, soft drinks, and sweetened beveragesApproved, starts November 1, 2026SC Healthy Food Choice Project
VirginiaNovember 1, 2026“sweetened beverages”Approved, starts November 1, 2026Virginia SNAP Healthy
WyomingFebruary 1, 2027Sweetened, carbonated beveragesApproved, starts February 1, 2027Wyoming SNAP
KansasFebruary 15, 2027Candy and soft drinksApproved, starts February 15, 2027Kansas DCF food restriction waiver
MissouriFebruary 15, 2027Candy, prepared desserts, and certain unhealthy beveragesApproved, starts February 15, 2027Missouri Healthy SNAP
HawaiiApril 1, 2027Soft drinksApproved, starts April 1, 2027USDA Hawaii page
OhioApril 1, 2027Sugar-sweetened beverages and all fountain drinksApproved, starts April 1, 2027Ohio resources for SNAP retailers
NevadaFebruary 1, 2028Candy and sugar-sweetened beveragesApproved, starts February 1, 2028Nevada SNAP
NebraskaDecember 1, 2026 (requested)Soda, soft drinks, and energy drinks, with candy added from March 1, 2027Requested, not yet approvedUSDA Nebraska page
ColoradoNone (approval vacated)Soft drinksBlocked by court orderCO SNAP Healthy Choice Waiver
IowaNone (approval vacated)All taxable food items (as defined by the Iowa Department of Revenue), except food-producing plants and seedsBlocked by court orderIowa HHS SNAP
TennesseeNone (approval vacated)Processed foods and beverages such as soda, energy drinks, and candyBlocked by court orderTennessee SNAP
West VirginiaNone (approval vacated)SodaBlocked by court orderWest Virginia SNAP

What the court order means

On June 22, 2026, the US District Court for the District of Columbia, in Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al., 1:26-cv-00861, ordered USDA’s approvals for Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia vacated. USDA says those waivers “may not proceed”, and it told retailers to stop the restrictions in Iowa and West Virginia.

Nebraska: its earlier approval was also vacated, and USDA issued a stop notice to retailers. Nebraska filed a new request on Sept. 1, 2026 for soda, soft drinks and energy drinks from December 1, 2026, adding candy on March 1, 2027. USDA is taking public comments until November 2, 2026 and says any approval would be published at least 10 days before the start date. USDA’s October 13, 2026 table lists December 1, 2026 beside Nebraska, but its map and its Nebraska page still show the request as pending.

What these waivers change

USDA’s approval letters describe each waiver as changing the definition of food that SNAP benefits can buy in that state (for example, Texas: excluding sweetened drinks and candy). They are about which items the EBT card can pay for. The rules on who may qualify for SNAP and how much a household gets are set separately; see SNAP eligibility and benefit amounts.

Restricted items can still be bought with other money. Questions about your own case go to your state SNAP agency.

What we could not verify

  • Whether every state began on the date USDA lists. USDA lists target start dates; for the eight dates already past, we have not confirmed each state’s actual first day.
  • Nebraska’s own Healthy Choices Waiver page notes the June 22, 2026 court decision at the top, but its questions and answers still describe the earlier, vacated dates (soda from Jan. 1, 2026; candy from Nov. 1, 2026). We follow USDA’s newer record.
  • Ohio’s own pages do not give a new start date. ODJFS says only that the ban has been delayed; April 1, 2027 is USDA’s date.

Sources

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The restrictions change what SNAP buys, not whether you may qualify. Check SNAP and other help in a few questions.

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