Arkansas Limits Food Aid
Arkansas Advances SNAP Candy and Soda Ban Despite Recent Court Ruling
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Arkansas will become the first state in the nation to ban SNAP recipients from buying candy and soda, with the restriction taking effect July 1, 2026 — just days after a federal judge struck down identical bans in five other states. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed at a June 29 press conference that Arkansas will push ahead, arguing the state was not a party to that ruling, according to 5NEWS.
Sanders did not mince words about her motivation. "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," she said, according to NEA Report. More than 223,000 Arkansans will see their SNAP buying power change starting Wednesday, according to Arkansas DHS.
How Arkansas Sidestepped the Federal Court Ruling
On June 22, 2026, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson blocked SNAP junk food bans in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. She ruled the USDA had exceeded its authority by redefining what counts as "food" under SNAP — a power she said belongs only to Congress, according to Grocery Dive. But Arkansas was not named in that lawsuit, so the injunction does not currently apply to the state.
Arkansas received its own separate waiver. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins approved the Arkansas request in June 2025 as a two-year "demonstration project" under Section 17 of the food stamp law. The state uses the GS1 US food categorization system to flag ineligible items at checkout registers. Arkansas DHS also launched a mobile app on June 29 so shoppers can scan barcodes to check eligibility before reaching the register, according to 5NEWS.
The Public Health Case — and Where the Science Gets Murky
Sanders and her allies point to Stanford University research showing that restricting sugary drinks for SNAP users could meaningfully reduce rates of type-2 diabetes and obesity. Arkansas has some of the highest rates of both in the country. The MAHA — "Make America Healthy Again" — initiative, backed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., frames SNAP-funded sugar as a driver of a national chronic disease crisis, according to AP News.
But the overall body of research is mixed. Critics note that restricting soda does not automatically push people toward healthier food, especially when fresh produce is scarce or too expensive. Nationally, SNAP users spend an estimated $27 billion a year — about 23% of total program spending — on items that could be classified as junk food, according to USDA. Restricting purchases without lowering the cost of healthy food may leave low-income families with fewer options, not better ones.
Critics Call It Paternalistic, Warn of Lawsuits Ahead
Advocates for low-income families say the ban treats poor people as incapable of making their own food choices. The National Center for Law and Economic Justice warned that Arkansas is "extremely vulnerable" to its own lawsuit now that a federal judge has set a precedent. Civil rights groups are expected to file emergency motions in federal court around the July 1 go-live date, according to AP News.
Grocery retailers are also wary. A national analysis by Numerator found that if all 23 states currently seeking SNAP waivers succeed, retailers could lose roughly $830 million in annual sales from restricted categories, according to Food Dive. People in food deserts — areas with few grocery stores but many convenience shops — may face the steepest impact, since soda and candy are often the most available items in those stores.
Congress Adds a Twist: The Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act
While soda gets cut from SNAP eligibility, Congress is simultaneously moving to add something new: hot prepared rotisserie chicken. Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR) introduced the "Healthy Obtainable Tasty Rotisserie Chicken Act" in April 2026. The bill passed the House 384–35, according to Congressional Record. Currently, SNAP cannot be used for any hot prepared foods — a rule that has long blocked purchases of ready-to-eat items even when they are nutritious.
The move signals a broader political bargain taking shape around SNAP reform: restrict sugar while expanding access to convenient protein. Whether that trade-off meaningfully improves diet quality for low-income families remains an open question — and one Arkansas's two-year pilot program is now officially testing, according to USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
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