A U.S. district judge ruled Tuesday that the federal government cannot prohibit SNAP participants from using benefits to purchase candy and sugary drinks [1, 2].
The decision prevents the government from implementing dietary restrictions on low-income families, ensuring that benefit recipients maintain autonomy over their food choices across several regions.
The ruling on June 23, 2026, impacts SNAP rules in 23 states where such restrictions were either already in place or planned [1, 2]. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, provides food-purchasing assistance for low-income individuals with food insecurity.
The court found that the federal government lacks the statutory authority to limit SNAP purchases to specific food categories [1, 2]. According to the ruling, attempting to bar the purchase of candy and soda would exceed the legal scope of the program [1, 2].
Legal challenges regarding the scope of SNAP have centered on whether the government can mandate nutritional standards for the items purchased. The judge said that the current laws governing the program do not grant the executive branch the power to create these specific prohibitions [1, 2].
While public health advocates have previously argued that restricting sugary items could improve health outcomes for participants, the court focused on the legal limits of agency power. The ruling effectively halts the enforcement of these restrictions in the affected 23 states [1].
“The government lacks statutory authority to restrict SNAP purchases to only certain food categories.”
This ruling reinforces the legal boundary between public health goals and administrative authority. By determining that the government cannot unilaterally restrict specific food categories, the court has prioritized the statutory language of the SNAP program over discretionary nutritional mandates. This may prevent future attempts to limit the purchase of other processed foods unless Congress passes new legislation explicitly granting such powers.
