Sign at supermarket entrance with text reading We Welcome EBT customers and a SNAP logo in Lafayette, California, November 13, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Read more America’s lifespan has doubled since 1776 — experts reveal what changed
With Arkansas’ ban on using SNAP benefits for candy and soda right around the corner, the state’s governor made the case for moving forward with it, despite a federal judge’s ruling against such restrictions in other states last week.
What they’re saying:
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders argued that barring the use of state-issued food-assistance funds to purchase soft drinks and candy was “common sense” and “long overdue.”
“It is crazy that hardworking taxpayers pay for the soft drinks and junk food that make people unhealthy and then pay for the healthcare those people need to get better. Arkansas is fixing that broken system,” the Republican governor wrote, adding that, “government programs need to recognize the link between nutrition and health.”
RELATED: USDA: FY25 state payment error rates for SNAP benefits show $10.1 billion in improper payments nationwide
Dig deeper:
Huckabee Sanders cited Stanford University research that determined 141,000 cases of childhood obesity and nearly a quarter-million cases of Type 2 diabetes in adults could be prevented with such restrictions. Overall research, though, is mixed on whether similar rules are actually effective toward improving diet quality and health.
The governor’s office also stated that one-third of the people in the state have diabetes or pre-diabetes and around 4 in 10 Arkansans are considered obese.
RELATED: SNAP junk-food purchase restrictions take effect July 1 in Arkansas — See what other states have bans
Read more AI is helping gas stations collude to raise California fuel prices, lawsuit says
Arkansas’ prohibition is set to go into effect on July 1 and will prevent people from using SNAP benefits to buy candy, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable drinks containing less than 50% natural juice, and “other unhealthy beverages,” the governor’s office explained.
The Razorback State will join eight other states that have already implemented similar bans, while seven other states will see their restrictions go into effect later this year. Over the next couple of years, three more states will be added to that list.
RELATED: New SNAP requirements now in effect, USDA planning major overhaul of program
Last week, though, five other states – Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia – had their new regulations put on hold when U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson vacated the USDA’s approval of the pilot program, allowing those states to test their restrictions. Arkansas’ new rules mirror the ones used by these states.
RELATED: More SNAP recipients face work requirements: What to know
By the numbers:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) oversees the SNAP program, which in fiscal year 2024 cost just over $100 billion, providing an average of $190.59 a month per person to over 42 million people.
The federal government sends SNAP funds to states that administer applications and determine eligibility based on federal guidelines. Benefits are loaded on prepaid cards through the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system, and beneficiaries use the cards at stores to pay for their groceries.
Read more Hyundai recalls 96K Tucson SUVs as dashboards may go blank
About the Author
