States are tightening limits on what SNAP recipients can do with their benefits

SNAP — the food assistance program — is changing. Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed who is eligible, changed work requirements, and shifted more of the cost of administering the program to the states. 

And starting Jan. 1, a handful of states have implemented a Trump administration priority by restricting the use of SNAP benefits to purchase what the USDA calls “non-nutritious” items. 

What that means, exactly, varies by state, but it often includes sodas and candy. By the end of the year, at least 18 states will restrict the use of SNAP benefits this way.

There are already limits on what people can buy with their SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer, or EBT, cards.

“You can't buy tobacco with EBT, you can't buy alcohol products with EBT, and you can't buy hot foods with EBT either,” said Margaret Mannion with the National Association of Convenience Stores.

If someone were to pull up to a gas station and try to use that EBT card to buy a package of nuts and some jerky and then, added a beer, too… 

“The point-of-sale system would flag, oh, this item is not EBT eligible. And so then … the person behind the checkout, would have to say, you know, like, ‘Do you have another way of paying for this?’” Mannion said.

 Whether something does or doesn’t have alcohol is pretty cut and dry. But is a flavored seltzer a soda? What about a sweetened beverage? Is a granola bar candy?

In some of the states, all will be restricted. In others, just some. Mannion said, this is where things are going to get complicated.

“For our multi-state operators, it's going to be a huge challenge to navigate 18 different compliance systems where soda or candy means something different in every one of those states,” she said.

Earlier this week, the USDA announced a 90-day grace period. But after that, Mannion said, the stakes of getting it right can be quite high for retailers.

“If you're found out of compliance, you'll get a warning letter,” she said.

 If it happens again, the USDA could issue an involuntary withdrawal from the program. Meaning the retailer would no longer be able to accept SNAP payments at all.  

“Retailers may decide it's not worth the cost of participating, so they may leave the program,” said Shelly Ver Ploeg, a senior fellow at the National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy, and a former USDA economist.

Ver Ploeg said even more changes to SNAP are coming as part of the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

“These restrictions are coming at a time when states will be asked to bear a greater burden in the costs of administering the SNAP program overall,” she said.

Ver Ploeg said she’ll be watching to see if the purchasing restrictions have a meaningful impact on SNAP participants’ diets and health. Participants could always use their own money to purchase the restricted “non-nutritious” foods and drinks.