By Olivia Bayne

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides approximately 41 million people nationwide with access to essential food and nutrition.[1] This federally funded food-assistance program was originally designed to redistribute excess farm commodities during the Great Depression.[2] More recently, however, SNAP’s focus has shifted towards alleviating hunger and food insecurity by increasing low-income households’ food-purchasing powers.[3] American families have relied on SNAP for over 85 years; today the program’s future is uncertain as it faces aggressive budget cuts and SNAP Food Restriction Waivers.[4] The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) boasts that these restriction waivers “empower states with greater flexibility” to manage SNAP benefits.[5] However, in reality, these waivers only further restrict the purchasing of certain non-nutritious items.[6] Though these waivers give states the opportunity to place restrictions on previously SNAP-eligible items, they provide no flexibility for expanding coverage. To ensure these cuts do not risk eroding participants’ purchasing powers, USDA should compensate for these reduced purchasing options by initiating expansion waivers.

Before discussing this issue further, however, it is useful to clarify exactly how SNAP works. Qualifying families receive SNAP benefits on EBT cards[7] that can be used for purchasing eligible foodstuffs at participating retailers.[8] Eligible foodstuffs include “any food or food product intended for human consumption, except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and hot foods.” [9] A few adjacent items are also classified as eligible foodstuffs, including seeds, edible plants, food procurement equipment (e.g., fishing rods, nets, etc.), and prepared meals from authorized dining facilities.[10]

Broad eligibility requirements and administrative rules are determined at the federal level, but day-to-day SNAP operations are handled by state governments that act through local social-service agencies.[11] The direct state oversight of SNAP benefits would presumably result in some flexibility and opportunity for states to further define exactly what benefits are covered under the food assistance program. However, due to the clear language of the enacting federal statutes and regulations, there is actually very little wiggle room for interpretation at the state level.[12] Rather than any opportunity existing for states to expand their definition of SNAP-eligible items, the only option for refinement is to further limit SNAP-eligible purchases through USDA-approved SNAP Food Restriction Waivers.[13] State Departments of Human Services may submit waiver requests to USDA and, following approval, may amend their respective state statutory definition of SNAP “eligible foods.”[14] Any item not classified as an eligible food may not be purchased using SNAP.[15]

In the wake of the Make America Healthy Again movement, many states are taking action to reduce SNAP purchases of junk food in their jurisdiction.[16] Over the last six months, eleven states have requested restriction waivers; notably, all sought to limit the same item: sugar-sweetened beverages.[17] According to the most recent food-assistance survey by the USDA, participating households spend more SNAP money on soft drinks than on any other item.[18] In light of the significant spending on soft drinks by SNAP households, tremendous debate surrounds the ethics of restricting SNAP participants’ access to sugar-sweetened beverages. While it is broadly recognized across the medical community that sugar-sweetened beverages have negative health impacts and no nutritional value, some scholars have called for increased pilot studies to empirically assess the public health value of any potential SNAP restrictions.[19] Others question the practical logistics of state-specific compliance programs for retailers and the potential for participant confusion.[20] Some critics even point towards the insidious nature of such restrictive legislation that needlessly limits low-income individuals’ freedom of choice.[21] This has been a decade-old controversy that is just now coming to the forefront. One of the most controversial of these criticisms is the loss of SNAP participants’ dignity in choice-making.[22] Since states are unable to expand the definition of SNAP-eligible items, if restriction waivers continue to slash SNAP eligible items, participants will be left with fewer and fewer purchasing options.

A potential remedy for this loss of purchasing autonomy would be a USDA-approved expansion waiver that allows the states to broaden the scope of SNAP eligibility based on public needs. Such a remedy would be best created by Congress which has the constitutional authority to delineate both USDA and the states’ definition of SNAP-eligible food items.[23] If Congress created a broader standard for determining SNAP eligibility, it would grant states more freedom to expand the definition of eligible items rather than just restrict.[24] States would then be in a better position to preserve individuals’ freedom of choice. Because the federal government gives states the tools to restrict SNAP benefits, it should equally give them the opportunity to expand coverage.

[1] Catlin Nchako, A Closer Look at Who Benefits from SNAP: State-by-State Fact Sheets, Ctr. on Budget and Pol’y Priorities (Jan. 21, 2025), https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/a-closer-look-at-who-benefits-from-snap-state-by-state-fact-sheets#Vermont; Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), USDA https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap (last visited Oct. 25, 2025).

[2] Patti S. Landers, The Food Stamp Program: History, Nutrition Education, and Impact, 107 J. Acad. Nutrition and Dietetics 1945 (2007).

[3] 7 U.S.C. 2011 §§ 2, 3(k); Comm. on Examination of the Adequacy of Food Resources and SNAP Allotments, et al., Nat’l Rsch Council, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Examining the Evidence to Define Benefit Adequacy 2 (Julie A. Caswell & Ann L. Yaktine eds., 2013).

[4] Katie Bergh & Dottie Rosenbaum, Many Low-Income People Will Soon Begin to Lose Food Assistance Under Republican Megabill, Ctr. On Budget and Pol’y Priorities (Sept. 10, 2025) https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/many-low-income-people-will-soon-begin-to-lose-food-assistance-under; SNAP Food Restriction Waivers, USDA: Food and Nutrition Serv., https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/waivers/foodrestriction (last visited Oct. 25, 2025).

[5] USDA Food and Nutrition Serv., supra note 4.

[6] Id.

[7] EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) is an electronic payment system that allows food assistance program participants to purchase certain items using SNAP benefits. Benefits are distributed to participants’ accounts on a monthly basis and may be accessed using their EBT card. SNAP EBT, USDA: Food and Nutrition Serv. (Feb. 4, 2025), https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/ebt; What is EBT? How SNAP Works: The Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) System, Ctr. for AGRIC. & FOOD SYS., https://farmersmarketlegaltoolkit.org/snap/what-is-ebt/ (last visited Oct. 25, 2025). EBT cards function like debit cards and may be used to purchase SNAP-eligible foods at SNAP-authorized retailers. Id.

[8] What is Snap and How to Apply, FEEDING AM., https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs/snap (last visited Oct. 10, 2025).

[9] 7 C.F.R. § 271.2.

[10] Id.

[11] Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), USDA: Food and Nutrition Serv., https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap (last visited Oct. 25, 2025).

[12] States do not generally define SNAP eligible items in state legislation beyond the definition provided in federal law, see, e.g., Vt. Stat. Ann. 33 § 1701 (2025) (“The State of Vermont may participate in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Program Assistance Program (SNAP) pursuant to 7 USC chapter 51.”); see, e.g., Tex. Hum. Res. Code Ann. § 33.002 (West, 2025) (“The commission is responsible for the allocation of supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits allocated . . . by the federal government.”); see, e.g., Or. Rev. Stat. § 411.816 (2023) (“The Department of Human Services shall adopt rules conforming to federal laws and regulations . . .”); Cf. 7 U.S.C. 2012 § 3(k); 7 C.F.R. § 271.2 (SNAP-eligible items are clearly defined at the federal level).

[13] USDA: Food and Nutrition Serv., supra note 4.

[14] See, e.g., Arkansas SNAP Food Restriction Waiver, USDA: Food and Nutrition Serv. (June 10, 2025), https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/waivers/foodrestriction/arkansas.

[15] See Ctr. For AGRIC. & FOOD SYS., supra note 7.

[16] Press Release, USDA, Secretary Rollins Signs State Waivers to Make America Healthy Again by Removing Unhealthy Foods from SNAP in Arkansas, Idaho, and Utah in Addition to Indiana, Iowa, and Nebraska (June 10, 2025), https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2025/06/10/secretary-rollins-signs-state-waivers-make-america-healthy-again-removing-unhealthy-foods-snap; Julianna Lai, Does the “Big Beautiful Bill” change what foods you can buy with SNAP?, Propel (July 16, 2025), https://www.propel.app/snap/does-the-big-beautiful-bill-ban-junk-food-snap/.

[17] See SNAP Food Restriction Waivers, supra note 4 (Arkansas: purchase of soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, unhealthy drinks, and candy; Colorado: purchase of soft drinks; Florida: purchase of soda, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts; Idaho: purchase of soda and candy; Indiana: purchase of soft drinks and candy; Louisiana: purchase of soft drinks, energy drinks, and candy; Nebraska: purchase of soda and energy drinks; Oklahoma: purchase of soft drinks and candy; Texas: purchase of sweetened drinks and candy; Utah: purchase of soft drinks; West Virginia: purchase of soda).

[18] USDA Food and Nutrition Serv., Foods Typically Purchased by Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Households (Summary) 2 (2016).

[19] Fast Facts: Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption, CDC: Nutrition (Jan. 11, 2024), https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/sugar-sweetened-beverages.html; Anne Barnhill, Impact and Ethics of Excluding Sweetened Beverages From the SNAP Program, 101 Am. J. Pub. Health 2037 (2011); Marlene B. Schwartz, Moving Beyond the Debate Over Restricting Sugary Drinks in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, 52 Am. J. Preventative Med. S199 (2017).

[20] Elizabeth Tansing, State Patchwork of SNAP Requirements will Create Challenges for Food Retailers, Participants, The Food Indus. Ass’n (June 6, 2025), https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/fmi-blog/2025/06/06/state-patchwork-of-snap-requirements-will-create-challenges-for-food-retailers–participants.

[21] Gabriela Alvarez, SNAP “Junk” Food Restrictions: Promoting Health or Restricting Freedom of Choice?, Race & Soc. Just. L. Rev. (Apr. 16, 2025), https://race-and-social-justice-review.law.miami.edu/snap-junk-food-restrictions-promoting-health-or-restricting-freedom-of-choice/.

[22] See Schwartz, supra note 19 at S199.

[23] U.S. Const. art. VI, § 2.

[24] Expanding SNAP-eligible items might include such purchases as cooking equipment, gardening tools, hot prepared food, or even more dining out.