Does Florida allow its food stamp recipients to buy chips and soda?

Twelve states have approved upcoming restrictions on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that will limit or ban the use of food stamps to purchase certain “junk food” items including soda, energy drinks, candy, and other low-nutrition products. These states include Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Florida has joined West Virginia, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas in adopting new SNAP waivers to remove junk food from eligible purchases. This move is part of the Trump Administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. These states follow Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana, Arkansas, Idaho, and Utah in signing similar waivers earlier this year.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines restricted junk food in these recent waivers as “soda, candy, and other products high in sugar and low in nutritional value,” which includes soft drinks, candy, energy drinks, and packaged desserts.

Under federal SNAP rules currently in place across the country, except where specified otherwise by state programs like the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), hot prepared foods—including fast food—are not eligible for purchase unless recipients are elderly, disabled or homeless individuals participating in RMP-approved areas.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that SNAP recipients spend approximately $405 million per day on sugary drinks alone—around 10% of daily SNAP spending. He noted that when candies are included in this calculation that share rises to between 13% and 17%.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alongside USDA is launching a joint Request for Information aimed at developing the first federally recognized uniform definition of “ultra-processed foods.” This effort seeks public input on criteria for classification with support from the Make America Healthy Again initiative, acknowledging over 70% of packaged foods consumed by Americans fall under ultra-processed categories linked to health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, obesity, and neurological disorders, among others.

The following table outlines each state’s target implementation date along with a summary of their respective requests regarding SNAP restrictions:

What states have SNAP Restriction Waivers?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is a federal agency responsible for protecting American health while providing essential human services led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.