Federal Judge Blocks Effort To Prevent SNAP Benefits From Being Used To Buy Sugary Drinks and Candy

Sugary drinks and candy are back on the menu for food stamp recipients after a federal judge blocked the Department of Agriculture’s effort to restrict them, marking a setback for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.More than 20 states had blocked participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from using the benefits to purchase “non-nutritious” items such as soda, energy drinks, and candy after receiving waivers from USDA.But a group of SNAP recipients and the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, NCLEJ, sued in March to block the waivers, arguing that USDA had not followed the proper procedures. On Monday, a federal district court judge, Amy Berman Jackson, ruled that the department did not have the authority to authorize the waivers and that it did not follow proper procedures for the notice period. “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,” Judge Berman said. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”A senior attorney at the NCLEJ, Katie Deabler, said in a statement, “The Court’s ruling is a major step in restoring essential food assistance to the millions of families that rely on SNAP nationwide.”“This decision makes clear that the USDA cannot bypass the legal guardrails that establish how SNAP must operate across the country. It affirms that families deserve a program that works without confusion,” Ms. Deabler said.The restrictions on SNAP had been celebrated as a victory for the MAHA movement. In August, the secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said the ban will “help put real food back at the center of the program” and is “how we Make America Healthy Again.”In a statement responding to Judge Berman’s ruling, a spokesman for the USDA said, “The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial.” The department will “not be backing down from the fight to Make America Healthy Again, including for families and communities reliant on SNAP,” the spokesman added.

Federal Judge Blocks Effort To Prevent SNAP Benefits From Being Used To Buy Sugary Drinks and Candy

More from the New York Sun

A New Spin on the Flat-Soled Sneaker, Inspired by the Bowling Alley

U.S., Iranian Negotiators Meet for One Day of Talks To Break Logjam on Peace Deal

Being Out of Shape May Be Worse Than Smoking, Researcher Warns

It’s Time Women Stopped Dressing Grown Men

The Center Can Hold at New York City, Despite the Far Left’s Capture of the Democratic Party

Ethiopia Emerging as the West’s Indispensable Partner in the Horn of Africa

Taunts My Father Taught Me

A Week After Court-Ordered Name Removal, Tarps Still Hide Kennedy Center Facade