The rules do not reduce monthly SNAP benefit amounts. Instead, retailers will prevent restricted items from being purchased with SNAP benefits at checkout. According to Newsweek, citing the latest USDA state-level figures, the five states together had more than 2.6 million SNAP participants as of April, while more than 35 million Americans nationwide receive the benefits each month.
Restrictions Vary Widely Between the Five States
South Carolina’s restrictions are scheduled to begin August 31. The state will exclude candy, energy drinks, soft drinks containing added sugar and other sweetened beverages, including sweetened tea, fruit punch, lemonade and sweetened coffee. Diet and zero-sugar soft drinks will remain eligible. USDA data listed 495,445 SNAP participants in the state in April.
North Dakota follows on September 1. Its rules cover candy, energy drinks and certain sweetened beverages. According to North Dakota Health and Human Services, drinks containing at least five grams of added sugar, artificial sweeteners, or less than 50 percent fruit or vegetable juice can be excluded. Milk, unsweetened beverages and drinks containing more than 50 percent juice remain eligible. North Dakota had 51,706 participants in April.
Montana’s restrictions begin September 30 and include candy, high-sugar beverages, energy drinks and shelf-stable prepared desserts. A high-sugar beverage generally contains more than 10 grams of sugar per eight fluid ounces. Store-made bakery products are excluded from the dessert restriction. Montana recorded 71,103 participants in April.
Ohio and Virginia will implement their rules on October 1. Ohio, with 1,341,017 participants in April, will prohibit certain beverages containing caloric sweeteners and all fountain drinks. Virginia, which had 710,416 participants, will exclude soda, diet soda, artificially sweetened soda, carbonated energy drinks and some other carbonated beverages, while lemonade, iced tea, coffee, juice, milk and sports drinks remain eligible.
Policy Expansion Continues Alongside Legal Challenges
The restrictions are part of the administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has argued that SNAP should focus more closely on nutrition. University of Pennsylvania researchers Christina Roberto and Alyssa Moran have also supported removing sugary drinks from the program, citing links between soda consumption and tooth decay, weight gain and chronic disease.
Critics argue that restrictions reduce consumer choice without addressing barriers that influence food purchases in lower-income communities. Dietitian and health writer Staci Gulbin told Newsweek that expanding farmers’ markets, community gardens, grocery stores in food deserts, nutrition counseling and access to healthy recipes could encourage healthier purchasing without removing options.
The policy has also faced a federal court challenge. On June 22, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the USDA exceeded its statutory authority when approving restrictions challenged by SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia. The ruling vacated those five approvals but did not directly cancel the waivers for Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina or Virginia.
According to Newsweek, USDA’s current restriction list continues to show the upcoming implementation dates for the five states covered here. The changes arrive as SNAP participation has also declined: the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calculated that enrollment fell by more than 4.5 million people, or 11 percent, between July 2025 and April 2026.
