More SNAP Restrictions Are Coming. Here's What Recipients Need to Know

Ten states—Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, North Dakota, South Carolina, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Virginia—are scheduled to roll out their own restrictions later in 2026.

Rudy Blalock

Published: 6/8/2026, 4:14:59 PM EDT

More SNAP Restrictions Are Coming. Here's What Recipients Need to Know — A close-up shot of a SNAP EBT information sign is displayed at a gas station in Riverwoods, Ill., on Nov. 1, 2025. (Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)

Nearly two dozen states are moving to limit what can be purchased with federal food assistance benefits, following new rules from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program being pushed by the Trump administration under the banner of promoting "real food."

The changes, approved through waivers issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, prohibit SNAP recipients in participating states from using their benefits to buy items such as soda, energy drinks, candy, and certain prepared desserts, according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service.

Ten states—Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, North Dakota, South Carolina, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Virginia—are scheduled to roll out their own restrictions later in 2026. Colorado's implementation was originally set for an earlier date but was pushed back to Oct. 30. Kansas, Nevada and Wyoming are expected to follow within the next two years, with deadlines extending to 2028.

By that point, nearly half of all U.S. states will have laws or regulations on the books barring SNAP dollars from being spent on sugary drinks or certain sweets.

SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, assists roughly one in eight Americans with monthly grocery benefits loaded onto a debit card. The program has long prohibited purchases of alcohol and tobacco, but the new restrictions expand those limitations.

"SNAP authorized retailers accept over $90 billion a year, or $236 million a day, in taxpayer dollars—USDA is making sure they're actually in the business of selling food," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a May press release related to those changes.

The restrictions aren't limited to what shoppers can buy. The USDA also announced a new rule that tightens stocking standards for stores authorized to accept SNAP benefits. Starting in fall 2026, retailers must carry at least seven varieties of items spanning four staple food categories: protein, grains, dairy, and fruits and vegetables, according to that press release. The agency said the change more than doubles the current food variety requirement and eliminates loopholes that previously allowed some snack foods to count toward staple food thresholds.

Since the start of the Trump administration, the Food and Nutrition Service has taken action against nearly 3,200 retailers for failing to meet stocking standards, either upon application or after authorization—with the most serious violations resulting in disqualification from the program.

"This rule puts real food back at the center of SNAP," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in the same announcement. "It demands more from retailers and delivers better options for the families who depend on this program."

Several states have already put restrictions in place. Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia enacted theirs as of Jan. 1, 2026, while Louisiana and Oklahoma followed in February and Florida and Texas in April, according to the USDA Food and Nutrition Service's waiver tracker updated June 5.

The USDA said additional guidance for retailers on how the new stocking rules will be enforced is expected in the coming weeks.