• Posted May 21, 2025

Nebraska First State to Ban Soda, Energy Drinks From SNAP Program

Nebraska is the first state to get federal approval to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.

The change, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, will affect about 152,000 low-income residents in Nebraska. 

It will take effect on Jan. 1, The Associated Press reported.

"There's absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks," Nebraska's Republican governor, Jim Pillen, said in a statement.

“SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver,” the statement added.

SNAP is a federal program that helps about 42 million Americans afford groceries. States administer the program, which has a budget of about $100 billion, but it is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Until now, SNAP benefits could be used “for any food or food product intended for human consumption," except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods, AP reported.

Over the years, lawmakers have suggested limiting SNAP purchases of items like soda, chips, ice cream and even steak, but the USDA had rejected these efforts.

Rollins, as well as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., had pushed for stricter rules on SNAP purchases. She called Nebraska's waiver "a historic step to 'Make America Healthy Again'."

Details of Nebraska's specific restrictions have not yet been released. But six other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia — have also asked for waivers to change what can or cannot be bought with these SNAP funds.

Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research & Action Center, said the decision ignores years of research showing that incentives, not restrictions, work the best.

The waiver “ignores decades of evidence showing that incentive-based approaches — not punitive restrictions — are the most effective, dignified path to improving nutrition and reducing hunger,” Plata-Nino said.

She and other anti-hunger advocates worry the ban will add costs, create confusion and increase stigma for people already struggling to buy food, AP said.

More information

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service has more on the SNAP program.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, May 19, 2025