SNAP rule reversal impacts 23 states: What to know

Related video above: News coverage from when the SNAP restrictions on soda and candy were being debated in 2025.

(NEXSTAR) – With one strike of the gavel, a federal judge has reversed the SNAP restrictions states have been slowly rolling out since the start of the year.

Starting on Jan. 1, states have been adding new rules on what can and can’t be bought with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funds. SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, helps an estimated 1 in 9 Americans buy groceries.

While the rules differed state-by-state, they largely focused on banning the purchase of sodas, energy drinks, candy and other “junk” food. It was seen as part of the Trump administration’s push to “Make America Healthy Again.”

By the start of June, 23 states had been granted permission by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement these types of restrictions.

That all changed Monday, when U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled the Agriculture Department has not been following the definition of “food” as outlined by Congress.

“The federal defendants and........

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