The federal government can't block benefits from the nation's largest food aid program from being used to buy candy, soda and other sugary drinks, a judge ruled.
Monday's ruling scuttles restrictions now in place or planned for the federally funded and state-run Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in 23 states. President Donald Trump's administration has not said whether it will appeal to a higher court.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson,
who sits in Washington and was nominated to the bench by former President Barack Obama, said in her opinion that the ruling wasn't a comment on whether the restrictions are a good idea.
“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.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have encouraged states to limit what the food aid can be used to buy as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” campaign.
They reason that soda and candy fuel obesity, diabetes and chronic disease epidemics — and taking them off the menu would encourage healthier food choices.
The Agriculture Department has given 23 states so far permission to implement restrictions. Some have been implemented already, while others are queued to take effect in the coming months and years.
At least one state that was set to limit soda and candy purchases changed course earlier this year. Colorado's human services board voted against implementing the ban after a March hearing in which SNAP beneficiaries and advocates said people would face stigmas if they mistakenly tried to use the benefits on prohibited items. They also said the rules were confusing because they would have allowed buying drinks with at least 50% fruit or vegetable juice, but not those with less.
While the goals are similar, the exact rules vary by state. Some wanted to ban both sugary drinks and candy, while others only sought to ban sugary beverages.
A legal challenge to the candy and soda ban — which includes items such as sports drinks in some states — was filed by SNAP beneficiaries in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.
Jackson said the main legal misstep in restricting what SNAP benefits could buy came because it ran contrary to Congress's definition of “food.”
Under the law, SNAP benefits — formerly known as food stamps — can be used for “any food or food product for home consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.”
The government can waive requirements, but limiting use of the benefits to improve nutrition isn't listed as a reason to do so. Yet when states asked the Agriculture Department to let them restrict purchases, their requests included using alternate definitions of “food.”
The Agriculture Department has not said whether it intends to appeal the ruling.
The case is among scores of challenges to Trump administration policies that hinge on whether the administration has the authority to change policies without congressional approval.
While it's a big program helping nearly 39 million Americans — about 1 in 9 — buy groceries, SNAP is normally relatively low-profile. That's been different since Trump returned to office last year.
Under his big tax and policy law signed last year, more recipients are subject to work requirements and states are being required to pay a larger share of administrative costs — and could be on the hook for benefit costs if their error rates are too high.
During a government shutdown last year, courts blocked the administration from cutting off benefits. Meanwhile, Rollins has said that there's rampant fraud in the program.
