SNAP and Welfare Policy

Starting Jan. 1, 2026, 18 states — including Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah and West Virginia — began enforcing federal‑waiver restrictions that bar SNAP purchases of soda, candy and other specified foods, a policy pushed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins under the "Make America Healthy Again" initiative. Retail groups warn of longer checkout lines and steep costs (estimated at $1.6 billion upfront and $759 million annually), critics note prior USDA research and earlier administrations rejected similar waivers as costly with uncertain health benefits, and the change affects a roughly $100‑billion‑a‑year program serving about 42 million people, many in households with children, older adults or people with disabilities.