Food stamp shoppers in Wyoming will no longer be able to buy sweetened soda with their benefits starting Feb. 1, 2027, and Kansas follows two weeks later with a limit on candy and soft drinks that begins Feb. 15. Nevada’s limit on candy and sugar-sweetened drinks is set for Feb. 1, 2028, a full year after the first two. The dates come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of state food restriction waivers, which was updated Oct. 2, 2026. Food stamps are formally the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Wyoming starts first
USDA’s Wyoming waiver page says the approval is for two years, effective Feb. 1, 2027. The state asked to change SNAP’s definition of food for purchase so that it leaves out sweetened, carbonated beverages. That is the whole list for Wyoming. Candy is not part of the Wyoming waiver, unlike the one approved for Kansas.
USDA approved the request on March 4, 2026. The agency’s page for the state was refreshed in early October, and it still shows the February 2027 start.
Kansas follows on Feb. 15
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins signed the Kansas approval letter to Gov. Laura Kelly the same day, March 4, 2026. The Kansas waiver page says the approval is for two years, effective Feb. 15, 2027, and that the state formally asked for it on May 5, 2025. It removes candy and soft drinks from what SNAP dollars can buy.
The Kansas Reflector reported that the state will borrow definitions from its sales tax law. Soft drinks are nonalcoholic drinks with sweeteners, minus drinks with milk and drinks that are more than half juice. Gov. Kelly urged USDA to reduce “confusion and uncertainty” for stores and recipients.
For households in Wyoming and Kansas, the question is what will still scan at the register in February, and whether the grocery budget needs to shift before then. Anyone on SNAP in either state who buys soda, or candy in Kansas, is looking at a few months to adjust.
Wyoming and Kansas households get the soda and candy limits in February 2027, and their SNAP renewal and reporting dates run on a separate schedule. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer includes 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar for keeping those dates straight while the new limits arrive.
Put SNAP renewal and reporting dates on one calendar with the Renewal Organizer →
Nevada’s version comes a year later
Nevada is the late one. USDA’s Nevada page, updated Sept. 22, 2026, lists an approval letter dated March 4, 2026, a modification on April 22, 2026, and an effective date of Feb. 1, 2028. The limit covers candy and sugar-sweetened beverages.
That leaves Nevada recipients with about 16 months from now. USDA’s page lists no earlier start for Nevada.
Why a start date can still move
USDA’s list labels these “target implementation dates,” not guarantees, and some have already shifted. Hawaii’s soft-drink limit was first set for Aug. 1, 2026. The agency approved the state’s request in June to move it, and the Hawaii page, updated Sept. 18, now shows April 1, 2027.
A federal court has also stepped in. On June 22, 2026, it ordered that USDA’s approvals be vacated for Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia, and the waivers there may not go forward. Wyoming, Kansas and Nevada are not on that list.
Other states already have dates
The same USDA list shows earlier starts elsewhere. Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia are targeted for Nov. 1, 2026. Nebraska is set for Dec. 1, 2026, with candy added March 1, 2027. Missouri is also set for Feb. 15, 2027, covering candy, prepared desserts and certain beverages. Each state writes its own list of items, so a rule in one state says little about the next.
Checking the list before February
The first job is to find the state’s exact wording. USDA’s waiver list links to each approval letter, and the letter spells out what is excluded and when. Wyoming households should read for “sweetened, carbonated beverages,” Kansas households for “candy and soft drinks,” and Nevada households for “candy and sugar-sweetened beverages.”
It also helps to watch for notices from the state SNAP office. Gov. Kelly’s call to cut confusion points to how many questions a new item list creates. A household that sorts its usual grocery list into restricted and unrestricted items now will not be surprised at the register.
The dates themselves are USDA’s to confirm. The agency’s page is the place to see whether Feb. 1, Feb. 15 or Feb. 1, 2028 still stands as the months go by.
Feb. 1 and Feb. 15 are not the only dates
The soda and candy limits start on fixed February dates, but recertification and reporting deadlines for each SNAP household keep running on their own calendar. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer pairs 51 state packs with a renewal and reporting calendar, in a 20-page organizer that puts a household’s own dates in one place.
Get the 51 state packs and the renewal calendar in the SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
