Food stamp users fight restrictions on soda and sweets

Five people who qualify for food stamps are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because new rules stop them from using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues the limits are illegal and make it harder for families to manage their food and health needs.

Since May, the Agriculture Department has allowed 22 states to restrict what people can buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

The approved waivers block purchases of soda, energy drinks, candy and other prepared desserts.

Officials say the restrictions are meant to improve nutrition.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have praised the restrictions as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” effort to reduce chronic disease and encourage healthier food choices.

But some SNAP recipients feel the changes are unfair.

Five SNAP recipients are asking the court to stop the rules in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, a nonprofit that advocates for low-income people, along with the antitrust law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner.

The complaint argues the government went beyond its powers when it approved the restrictions.

The department used the waivers to “backdoor in national policy that expresses the administration’s preferences around food,” Katharine Deabler-Meadows, a senior lawyer with the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, told The New York Times.

“The practical effect,” the plaintiffs said in the complaint, “is to destabilize food access for every SNAP participant in the affected states.”

For years, including under the first Trump administration, federal officials had rejected requests from states to limit junk food purchases in SNAP. Previous administrations questioned whether the bans would work and worried about backlash from stores and anti-poverty advocates.

The Trump administration began approving state waivers earlier this year.

Supporters say the policy encourages healthier food choices and ensures taxpayer dollars are spent on more nutritious items.

Others argue the restrictions could create confusion at grocery stores and limit what families can buy.

The lawsuit says the government failed to follow the proper legal steps before approving the changes, including giving the public a chance to weigh in.

The complaint claims USDA allowed states to narrow the legal definition of food “without statutory authority or evaluation methodology, and without notice to or input from the people or businesses directly affected.”

Deabler-Meadows said the violations are “quite clear.”

“You can never predict what’s going to happen, but we think it’s quite persuasive that these waivers should never have been approved,” she told The Times.

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