Judge blocks junk food SNAP restrictions 

The federal government may not block SNAP users from buying what it calls “junk food,” according to a federal judge’s ruling Monday. 

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, nominated by former President Barack Obama and based in Washington, ruled that the federal government did not follow its own definition of “food.”  

“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” she wrote. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.” 

USDA has granted 23 states permission to restrict certain candy and soda purchases from SNAP eligibility. 

The restrictions are part of the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda being promoted by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture. 

The Trump administration has not said how it will approach the ruling. 

However, the leaders of HHS and USDA released statements on social media channel X. 

“An activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk,” posted Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families. Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at the expense of American health. This administration will keep fighting to Make America Healthy Again.” 

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted: “Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for products that make people sick and then pay again for the medical care that follows. SNAP was created to fight hunger and improve nutrition, not to subsidize the chronic disease epidemic. Today’s ruling does not change the facts about the health harms associated with excessive sugar consumption. We will continue pursuing every available path to Make America Healthy Again.” 

About 39 million people use SNAP in the U.S.