MedPage Today December 31, 2025
Research is mixed about whether restricting SNAP purchases improves diet quality and health
Starting Thursday, Americans in five states who get government help paying for groceries will see new restrictions on soda, candy, and other foods they can buy with those benefits.
Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia are the first of at least 18 states to enact waivers, prohibiting the purchase of certain foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
It’s part of a push by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to urge states to strip foods regarded as unhealthy from the $100 billion federal program — long known as food stamps — that serves 42 million Americans.
“We cannot continue...
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