by Ireland Owens
A federal judge on Monday struck down multiple state pilot programs that restricted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients from using their benefits to buy unhealthy foods.
Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins incorrectly interpreted federal law when approving limits on what SNAP recipients could purchase with their benefits, Politico reported. The ruling impacts such pilot programs in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the outlet.
“With her solicitation and approval of the pilot projects in this case, the Secretary purports to waive not just a mere administrative or technical obstacle, but the very definition of ‘food’ as it was laid down by Congress,” the ruling says, Politico reported. “Neither the [U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] nor the states can force this square peg into a round hole to avoid the plain language of the statute and the requirements of 2026(k).”
Rollins wrote in a Tuesday X post responding to the ruling that “an activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.”
“SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families,” she added. “Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at the expense of American health.”
“The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial,” a USDA spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an emailed statement. “USDA will not be backing down from the fight to Make America Healthy Again, including for families and communities reliant on SNAP.”
The USDA has thus far signed off on “food restriction” waivers in 23 states letting them prohibit SNAP participants from using their benefits to purchase items such as candy and soda, Reuters reported.
President Donald Trump’s administration is “leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within” SNAP, according to a statement on the USDA’s website.
“USDA is empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs by approving SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda and candy,” according to the USDA. “These waivers are a key step in ensuring that taxpayer dollars provide nutritious options that improve health outcomes within SNAP.”
U.S. states reported having to replace over $320 million in stolen SNAP benefits from October 2022 to December 2024,according to a December 2025 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
The Justice Department announced May 22 that a Maryland man had been sentenced to 54 months in federal prison “for masterminding” a SNAP benefits “fraud scam” and other related crimes.
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Ireland Owens is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
