Key Takeaways
- SNAP soda and candy restrictions started Nov. 1, 2026 in Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.
- That brings active restrictions to 12 states; six more are approved with start dates in 2027 or 2028.
- Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia stay blocked by a June 2026 court ruling under appeal.
- Ohio moved to April 1, 2027; Nebraska's new request for a Dec. 1 start is still pending.
SNAP soda and candy restrictions are now active in 12 states. Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia all started on November 1, 2026, after USDA published Federal Register approval notices for each one.
If you receive SNAP, whether a restriction applies to you depends on which state you live in, and that list moved again this month. Ohio didn’t join the November group: USDA’s tracker now shows Ohio starting April 1, 2027.
The court picture shifted too. Four states (Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia) are still blocked by a federal court ruling. Nebraska has filed a new request instead of waiting on the appeal, and USDA lists it as pending, not approved.
That’s separate from the October 1 SNAP funding and eligibility changes, but both hit a lot of the same households this fall.
What’s Actually Banned, State by State
Every waiver is different. Some states restrict just soda; others go much further. Here’s the full list with target dates, pulled from the FNA’s food-restriction waiver tracker (updated October 30, 2026).
| State | Target Date | What’s Restricted | Status (Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Jul 1, 2026 | Soda, low-juice drinks, other unhealthy drinks, candy | Active |
| Colorado | Vacated | Soft drinks | Blocked by court |
| Florida | Apr 20, 2026 | Soda, energy drinks, candy, prepared desserts | Active |
| Hawaii | Apr 1, 2027 | Soft drinks | Approved, not yet active |
| Idaho | Feb 15, 2026 | Soda and candy | Active |
| Indiana | Jan 1, 2026 | Soft drinks and candy | Active |
| Iowa | Vacated | Nearly all taxable food items under Iowa tax law (broadest of any state) | Blocked by court |
| Kansas | Feb 15, 2027 | Candy and soft drinks | Approved, not yet active |
| Louisiana | Feb 18, 2026 | Soft drinks, energy drinks, candy | Active |
| Missouri | Feb 15, 2027 | Candy, prepared desserts, certain unhealthy beverages | Approved, not yet active |
| Montana | Nov 1, 2026 | High-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy, prepared desserts | Active (new) |
| Nebraska | Dec 1, 2026 (proposed) | Soda, soft drinks, energy drinks; candy added Mar 1, 2027 | New request pending (old waiver vacated) |
| Nevada | Feb 1, 2028 | Candy and sugar-sweetened beverages | Approved, not yet active |
| North Dakota | Nov 1, 2026 | Sweetened beverages, energy drinks, candy | Active (new) |
| Ohio | Apr 1, 2027 | Sugar-sweetened beverages and all fountain drinks | Approved, not yet active (moved from Nov 1) |
| Oklahoma | Feb 15, 2026 | Soft drinks and candy | Active |
| South Carolina | Nov 1, 2026 | Candy, energy drinks, soft drinks, sweetened beverages | Active (new) |
| Tennessee | Vacated | Processed foods and beverages: soda, energy drinks, candy | Blocked by court |
| Texas | Apr 1, 2026 | Sweetened drinks and candy | Active |
| Utah | Jan 1, 2026 | Soft drinks | Active |
| Virginia | Nov 1, 2026 | Sweetened beverages | Active (new) |
| West Virginia | Vacated | Soda | Blocked by court |
| Wyoming | Feb 1, 2027 | Sweetened, carbonated beverages | Approved, not yet active |
That’s 18 states with a live approval: 12 active and 6 still waiting on a later start date. Four more were vacated by the court, and Nebraska is waiting on USDA’s answer to its new request.
South Carolina and North Dakota had already started once, back in late August and early September. USDA paused both and ran a Federal Register notice-and-comment process first, a step its own letter tied to the June court ruling. Both restarted on November 1.
Florida’s restriction is still one of the broadest that’s active. It covers energy drinks and prepared desserts on top of soda and candy, so it’s worth a closer look if you’re a Florida (FL) recipient.
If your state isn’t on this list, USDA/FNA hasn’t approved a food-restriction waiver there as of this writing. The FNA’s waiver tracker page is the official, regularly updated source.
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The Court Ruling and Where the Appeal Stands
On June 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled in Aragon v. Rollins that USDA exceeded its legal authority when it approved food-restriction waivers as “demonstration projects.” Her reasoning: the law lets USDA test the SNAP program’s administrative efficiency through pilot projects, not use that authority to improve recipients’ diet or health.
“Congress defined what ‘food’ is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted,” Judge Jackson wrote.
The ruling voided the waivers in Colorado (CO), Iowa (IA), Nebraska (NE), Tennessee (TN), and West Virginia (WV), the five states named in that lawsuit. It doesn’t automatically apply to the other states with approved waivers.
USDA appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on August 20, 2026 (case No. 26-5297). On October 28, the court set a briefing schedule:
- USDA’s opening brief: due December 7, 2026
- The SNAP recipients’ brief: due January 6, 2027
- USDA’s reply brief: due January 27, 2027
That puts oral argument and any decision well into 2027. Until then, the vacated waivers stay vacated unless the D.C. Circuit steps in. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the administration will keep pursuing the restrictions as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” push with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Nebraska took a different route. Rather than wait on the appeal, it filed a new waiver request for soda, soft drinks and energy drinks starting December 1, 2026, with candy added March 1, 2027. USDA’s map marks it as “pending FNA response,” and Nebraska’s own page says the current rules still apply until USDA approves it.
Who This Actually Affects
Carla, a SNAP recipient in West Virginia, had been budgeting around a soda restriction that was supposed to start January 1, 2026. West Virginia is still one of the four blocked states, so nothing changes for her while the appeal is briefed.
James, who receives SNAP in Texas (TX), isn’t affected by any of this month’s news. His restriction on sweetened drinks and candy took effect April 1, 2026, and it isn’t part of the court case.
Denise, a SNAP recipient in South Carolina, got a two-month break after USDA paused the state’s original Aug. 31 start. As of November 1, candy, soft drinks, energy drinks and sweetened beverages are off her SNAP list again, and this time the Federal Register step is done.
If you’re not sure whether your state’s restriction applies yet, your state SNAP office is the fastest way to confirm. The contact links on the FNA’s waiver tracker go straight to each state’s SNAP administrator.
Where Readers Get Tripped Up
I get versions of these questions every time the list changes.
Assuming “approved” means “in effect.” Six states have approval but won’t start until 2027 or 2028. Ohio is the newest example: it was lined up for November 1 and now shows April 1, 2027.
Reading Nebraska’s Dec. 1 date as an approval. USDA’s table lists Nebraska with a December 1 date, which has confused a lot of coverage. That date belongs to a new request USDA hasn’t approved yet. Until it does, Nebraska SNAP rules haven’t changed.
Assuming “sweetened beverages” means the same thing everywhere. It doesn’t. Virginia’s rule covers regular, diet and zero-sugar soda plus sugary carbonated drinks, while non-carbonated drinks like lemonade, iced tea and sports drinks still qualify. Check your own state’s list before assuming diet soda is safe.
Expecting checkout to get it right on day one. In the first weeks of a rollout, store systems don’t always flag every restricted item correctly. If you’re charged incorrectly, most states list a retailer complaint email on their waiver page.
What’s Next for SNAP Restrictions in 2027
The next date on the calendar is December 1, 2026, Nebraska’s proposed start, which only happens if USDA approves the new request in time. The comment period on that request closed November 2.
After that, the 2027 rollout picks up:
- Wyoming: February 1, 2027
- Kansas and Missouri: February 15, 2027
- Ohio and Hawaii: April 1, 2027
- Nevada: February 1, 2028
The D.C. Circuit appeal is the bigger legal question, with briefs due through January 27, 2027. A reversal could revive the four vacated waivers. A loss for USDA could put pressure on the waivers in the other 18 states.
I’ll update this page as dates move and as the appeal develops.
