US EditionUSDA Approves Iowa's Request to Ban Soda, Sweets From SNAP
- The USDA approved Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds' waiver on May 2025 to bar SNAP benefits from buying soda, sweets, and similar items starting January 1, 2026.
- Reynolds submitted similar waivers before, but the Biden administration rejected them, while this approval follows a call to states to innovate from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins.
- The waiver prohibits items like candy, soft drinks, gum, lemonade, garden seeds, and certain snack products to address rising obesity rates in Iowa and nationwide.
- Reynolds said, "We're not a healthy population," and aims to realign SNAP with its original intent to supplement low-income families with nutritious food.
- Anti-Hunger advocates and Democratic Rep. Rob Johnson criticized the waiver for increasing barriers and stigma, noting it covers fewer children than federal summer EBT programs would provide.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Iowa Hunger Coalition says restrictions on SNAP won’t make the state healthier
NE Iowa Publishing
Reynolds’ waiver to restrict SNAP eligible foods approved by USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Gov. Kim Reynolds’ waiver to exclude foods like candy and soft drinks from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Iowa. Anti-hunger advocates were against the waiver and argue it would not help low-income Iowans…
Iowa gets waiver to prevent SNAP spending on candy, pop, chips
(Radio Iowa) – The USDA has given the State of Iowa the go-ahead to prohibit Iowans from using federal food assistance to buy candy, salty snacks or sweetened drinks like pop, starting in January. During taping of this week’s “Iowa Press” program at Iowa PBS, Governor Kim Reynolds said current data shows 20% of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits are being used to buy those items. “This really lines up with what the intent…
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