By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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WEDNESDAY, May 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Nebraska is the first state to get federal approval to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.<\/p>\n
The change, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins<\/a>, will affect about 152,000 low-income residents in Nebraska.<\/p>\n It will take effect on Jan. 1, the Associated Press <\/em>reported.<\/em><\/p>\n “There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska’s Republican governor, Jim Pillen<\/a>, said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cSNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there\u2019s nothing nutritious about the junk we\u2019re removing with today\u2019s waiver,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n SNAP is a federal program that helps about 42 million Americans afford groceries. States administer the program, which has a budget of about $100 billion, but it is run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).<\/p>\n Until now, SNAP benefits could be used \u201cfor any food or food product intended for human consumption,” except alcohol, tobacco and hot foods, the AP<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Over the years, lawmakers have suggested limiting SNAP purchases of items like soda, chips, ice cream and even steak, but the USDA had rejected these efforts.<\/p>\n Rollins, as well as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>, had pushed for stricter rules on SNAP purchases. She called Nebraska’s waiver “a historic step to ‘Make America Healthy Again.'”<\/p>\n Details of Nebraska’s specific restrictions have not yet been released. But six other states \u2014 Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, Iowa and West Virginia \u2014 have also asked for waivers to change what can or cannot be bought with these SNAP funds.<\/p>\n Gina Plata-Nino<\/a>, a deputy director at the Food Research & Action Center, said the decision ignores years of research showing that incentives, not restrictions, work the best.<\/p>\n The waiver \u201cignores decades of evidence showing that incentive-based approaches \u2014 not punitive restrictions \u2014 are the most effective, dignified path to improving nutrition and reducing hunger,\u201d Plata-Nino said.<\/p>\n She and other anti-hunger advocates worry the ban will add costs, create confusion and increase stigma for people already struggling to buy food, the AP <\/em>said.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The USDA Food and Nutrition Service has more on the SNAP program<\/a>.<\/p>\n