USDA can’t ban soda, candy from SNAP benefits in 5 states, judge rules

U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Monday ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture could not prohibit individuals in five states from using their food stamps on candy and soda. In March, SNAP beneficiaries in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia sued the USDA over a plan it had to approve food restriction waivers in cooperation with different state governments. Those waivers prohibited SNAP beneficiaries from using their food stamps to purchase candy, soda, and other sugary foods. The food restriction waivers—without public input—redefined “food” in a way that was disadvantageous to some SNAP beneficiaries, the lawsuit claimed.

What did Judge Jackson rule? Jackson ruled in a summary judgment in favor of the beneficiaries suing USDA. She found that the agency did not follow the appropriate protocols and procedures for implementing the rules. Jackson’s ruling vacated the food restriction waivers that USDA agreed to for the five states in which plaintiffs resided.

How has the USDA responded? “The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial,” USDA said in a statement provided to WORLD on Tuesday. The agency insisted it would not back down from the fight to help Americans—including SNAP beneficiaries—improve their health.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Compassion about the staring contest in Washington, D.C., last year between the Republicans and the Democrats as millions of people’s SNAP benefits hung in the balance.