SNAP recipients sue USDA over rules limiting what they can buy

Some twenty states around the country want to restrict people from using SNAP benefits to buy "non-nutritious” items, including sugar-sweetened beverages, sodas, and candy.

Those states received waivers from the federal government to enact the restrictions, some of which have already gone into effect. As the restrictions roll out this year and next, a group of SNAP recipients and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ) filed a lawsuit Wednesday arguing the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not follow the proper procedures before granting the waivers.

A handful of states have started implementing the restrictions with effects for SNAP recipients, said Katherine Deabler-Meadows, a senior attorney with NCLEJ.

“Recipients who have specific needs to buy specific foods are either shorting their other household expenses or going without,” Deabler-Meadows said.

One plaintiff in Iowa, she said, has to stay hydrated to manage his kidney disease, but now can’t buy Gatorade with his benefits.

Christopher Bosso, professor of public policy and politics at Northeastern University, said the restrictions aren’t controversial “if you take it at face value.”

“They’re doing this because they want to improve the health of SNAP users,” he said.

But Bosso said he doesn’t think diets will actually change as a result of the restrictions. If a family wants to buy soda, he said “they’ll do it. They just won’t use their SNAP dollars.”

Those limitations, he said, on top of other changes to SNAP, could have another effect — less participation.

“One could argue that… the more you raise the administrative burdens on SNAP beneficiaries and on retailers, the more that people are going to opt out of the program,” Bosso said.

A USDA spokesperson declined to comment.

As for retailers, Margaret Mannion, director of government relations at the National Association of Convenience Stores, said they have to go through their stock meticulously as a result.

“Item by item, category by category, and try to make heads or tails of these definitions,” she said.

They have to learn how to classify things like electrolyte drinks and granola bars. Mess up too many times, and a store could lose the ability to accept SNAP payments.

On top of other upcoming rule changes, Mannion said it could mean stores pulling out of SNAP entirely. That could make it harder for people to afford the food they need, especially in rural areas.