A federal court has pulled the plug on four states’ plans to keep soda and candy off food stamp cards, but most of the other plans are moving ahead. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) now lists 19 states with a standing start date for a SNAP purchase restriction. The list changes by state, and the dates run from the start of 2026 to early 2028.
The order came on June 22, 2026, when a federal judge in Washington vacated the approval of four states’ waivers. For a shopper on SNAP, the practical question is whether the state where they buy groceries is one of the 19 with a date, and whether that date has already passed or is still coming.
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How the court order changed the list
The USDA’s food restriction waiver page lists 23 state rows. Four of them are marked vacated: Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia. That leaves 19 states, 23 minus the four vacated rows, that hold a start date.
The case is Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al., 1:26-cv-00861, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The USDA page says the court “ordered that FNA’s approval of the waiver be vacated” and that the waiver’s implementation “may not proceed.” The four vacated rows show the court order where a start date would normally appear.
Colorado’s own state page shows how quickly the plan changed. On May 11, 2026, FNA had approved moving the state’s implementation date from April 30 to Oct. 30, 2026. The Colorado waiver page says the June 22 order came afterward, so Colorado has no standing date at all.
Start dates that have already passed
Eight of the 19 dates are behind us. Indiana and Utah were listed for Jan. 1, 2026, and Idaho and Oklahoma for Feb. 15, 2026. Louisiana followed on Feb. 18, Texas on April 1, Florida on April 20 and Arkansas on July 1.
The products differ from state to state. Utah’s row covers soft drinks, while Indiana’s covers soft drinks and candy. Florida’s row lists soda, energy drinks, candy and prepared desserts, and Arkansas adds low-juice fruit and vegetable drinks to soda, energy drinks and candy.
November 1 and December 1 dates
Four states are listed for Nov. 1, 2026: Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia. Montana’s row covers high-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy and prepared desserts. North Dakota’s covers sweetened beverages, energy drinks and candy, and South Carolina’s covers candy, energy drinks, soft drinks and sweetened beverages. Virginia’s row lists sweetened beverages only.
Nebraska is listed for Dec. 1, 2026, covering soda, soft drinks and energy drinks. The Nebraska row adds candy on March 1, 2027, so shoppers there face two separate dates.
Dates in 2027 and 2028
Six more states are listed further out. Wyoming is set for Feb. 1, 2027, covering sweetened, carbonated beverages. Kansas and Missouri are both listed for Feb. 15, 2027, with Kansas covering candy and soft drinks and Missouri covering candy, prepared desserts and certain unhealthy beverages.
Hawaii and Ohio follow on April 1, 2027. Hawaii’s row covers soft drinks, while Ohio’s covers sugar-sweetened beverages and all fountain drinks. Nevada has the latest date on the list, Feb. 1, 2028, for candy and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Where to confirm a state’s rules
Each state has its own sub-page under the USDA waiver list, with the product list and the start date for that state. The USDA also keeps a separate page of clarifications on food restriction waivers and retailer compliance, which was updated on Sept. 10, 2026.
The main waiver table was last updated on Oct. 13, 2026. A state’s row can still change, as the four vacated rows show, so anyone planning around a date can recheck the table before the day arrives. The restrictions apply at the register for SNAP purchases only, and the USDA table describes what each state asked to restrict rather than a national rule.
A SNAP household with a date coming up in its state still has its regular recertification and reporting dates to keep. Those run on the state’s own schedule and do not move because a purchase restriction starts.
Is a shopper’s state one of the 19, and when does its date arrive?
A household in one of the 19 states can find its grocery list changed on a set day, while the dates for renewing SNAP and reporting changes keep running underneath. Missing a recertification date can cost a household its benefit, and a purchase restriction does not pause that clock.
The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer walks through SNAP and Medicaid renewal and gives a date system so no renewal is missed. It includes 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar, and its Part 2 covers the SNAP recertification step by step.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
