Junk Food Bans for SNAP Users in Some States Starting 2026: What to Know

More than a third of states will prohibit the purchase of some foods, and states will shoulder more of the program’s administrative cost.

Shoppers at a grocery store in Centreville, Va. on Nov. 2, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Shoppers at a grocery store in Centreville, Va. on Nov. 2, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Americans using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase groceries may need to adjust their shopping habits in 2026 as some states will prohibit the use of SNAP funds to purchase certain “junk foods.”

Also starting next year, states will have to shoulder a larger portion of the cost of running the program. In addition, states could lose funds if their payment error rate is too high.

Here is what to know about the overhaul of America’s largest nutrition program.

Restrictions on Purchases in Some States

Eighteen states will restrict the purchase of certain foods lacking in nutritional value next year. The changes are being made under the banner of the Make America Healthy Again initiative launched by the Department of Health and Human Services. To institute the changes, the states had to submit and have approved a waiver of federal rules from the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the nutrition program.

The starting dates for the restrictions and the foods prohibited vary by state.

Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia will implement purchase restrictions on Jan. 1, 2026. Idaho, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, Texas, Virginia, and Florida have starting dates from February to April. Arkansas, Tennessee, Hawaii, South Carolina, North Dakota, and Missouri will begin their bans between July and October.

Most of these states have removed candy, soda, and energy drinks from the list of SNAP-eligible items.

In Tennessee and Iowa, SNAP beneficiaries will no longer be able to use the funds to purchase certain highly sweetened foods and beverages. Tennessee will exclude processed foods “that list sugar, cane sugar, com syrup, or high fructose com syrup as the first ingredient, excluding granulated sugar, raw sugar, and other single-ingredient sugars used for cooking and baking.” Iowa will exclude taxable food items such as candy, soft drinks, and certain fruit juices.

Prepared desserts, such as cakes and cookies, are restricted in Florida and Missouri.

Iowa residents will no longer be able to use SNAP funds to purchase foods classified as “prepared”—namely, foods sold in a heated state, foods “containing two or more food ingredients mixed or combined by the seller for sale as a single item,” or food sold with eating utensils. Cold, unpackaged foods without utensils, such as bread, fruit, or canned goods, are still permitted.

See the accompanying map to find specific start dates and any applicable restrictions for each state.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said these are “bold” and “historic” steps to reverse the chronic diseases epidemic in the United States.

“We are restoring SNAP to its true purpose—nutrition,” Rollins said in a statement.

“With these new waivers, we are empowering states to lead, protecting our children from the dangers of highly-processed foods, and moving one step closer to the President’s promise to make America Healthy Again.”

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create.”

These restrictions mark the first time in the program’s history that the Department of Agriculture has granted SNAP waivers.

From the early 2000s through 2024, the department consistently denied state requests to restrict specific food items under SNAP.

In 2007, the USDA issued a paper explaining its reasons for denying such waivers, arguing that “no clear standards exist for defining foods as good or bad, or healthy or not healthy.”

The first-ever approval came on May 19, when Rollins signed Nebraska’s waiver request, followed quickly by approvals for Indiana and Iowa on May 22, 2025. Since then, 15 additional states have received waivers.

Administrative Cost Sharing, Error Rates

State governments will see changes in the SNAP program next year, also.

Beginning in October 2026, states will be responsible for 75 percent of SNAP administrative costs. Currently, the states pay half the cost of operating their SNAP programs, and the federal government pays the other half.

In fiscal year 2024, total state and federal administrative costs reached $6.6 billion.

The federal government will continue to fund 100 percent of SNAP benefits, which totaled about $100 billion in 2024.

Starting in 2027, states will be financially penalized for the first time in program history for having an excessive payment error rate.

States with payment error rates higher than 6 percent during fiscal year 2026 will be required to pay between 5 percent and 15 percent of the benefits distributed, starting in October 2027.

This would apply to 40 states and the District of Columbia, based on fiscal year 2024 error rates.

Previously, errors under $56 per household were ignored. However, starting in fiscal year 2026, which began on Oct. 1, every dollar in error counts toward the state’s penalty rate.

Some SNAP changes rising from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are already in effect.

Some Changes Already in Effect

Starting in October, the maximum allotment for a family of four in the continental United States rose to $994, up from $975.

The shelter deduction, which reduces countable income when determining SNAP eligibility, also increased, to $744 from $712.

Community engagement requirements have also changed. People aged 18 through 64 without dependents are required to work, volunteer, or receive job training for at least 80 hours per month to continue receiving benefits for more than three months in any 36-month period. The previous upper age limit was 54.

Also, refugees, asylees, parolees, and those with suspended deportation orders will generally become ineligible for SNAP benefits. That provision was scheduled to take effect in November, but a federal judge in Oregon ordered that the deadline be delayed to April 9, 2026.

This article has been updated to clarify how Tennessee defines processed food in relation to SNAP restrictions.