South Carolina’s SNAP cards stop paying for candy, energy drinks and sugary soft drinks on Nov. 1. The state’s Department of Social Services calls the change Healthy Food SC, a two-year project that covers every household on the program. Diet and zero-sugar sodas are not part of the ban.
What the card will not buy
The state’s Healthy Food SC page for SNAP households spells out four groups of items. Candy is sugar, honey or another sweetener combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts or other ingredients in bars, drops or pieces. Energy drinks are drinks with at least 65 milligrams of caffeine per 8 fluid ounces that are marketed as giving energy. Soft drinks are carbonated drinks sweetened or flavored with more than 5 grams of sugar or other sweeteners. Sweetened beverages are ready-to-drink products with added sugar or sweeteners.
SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the benefit many people still call food stamps. Starting Nov. 1, a restricted item in the cart will not go through on the EBT card. According to DSS, the register system will prompt the shopper to use another form of payment for that item, such as cash or a bank card.
What stays on the card
DSS says “diet or zero sugar soft drinks remain an allowable purchase with SNAP benefits.” ABC News 4 reported the same carve-out when the start date was pushed back. The state’s list of exclusions from the ban is longer than that. Protein bars, granola bars, baking ingredients and bakery items are not counted as candy. Coffee and tea are not counted as energy drinks. Drinks that contain milk or milk substitutes, drinks that are at least 50 percent fruit or vegetable juice with no added sweetener, infant formula, sports and rehydration drinks, carbonated water and medical-use beverages are not counted as sweetened beverages. Fruit, vegetables, grains, meat and dairy are untouched.
Eligibility and benefit amounts are not changing. DSS says the state “cannot modify eligibility parameters or benefit allotments for the SNAP program.” Only what the card can buy changes.
For a household on SNAP in South Carolina, the question is simple: does the Nov. 1 rule apply to this card? It does, because the project covers every SNAP household in the state and no one can opt out. What changes is the checkout, and what each household has to plan around is the shopping list and the usual renewal dates.
Nov. 1 is the first day candy and sugary drinks fall off the card for 235,235 South Carolina households, and each one still has its own renewal and reporting dates to keep. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer gives each household its state pack, one of 51, and a renewal and reporting calendar.
Get the South Carolina pack and renewal calendar in The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer →
Who is covered
There is no way to opt out. WIS-TV reported that SNAP households will not have the option to opt out of the food restrictions, and DSS says all South Carolina SNAP households will take part. All SNAP-approved retailers statewide are included, according to ABC News 4.
The number of people involved is large. WIS-TV put South Carolina’s June 2026 caseload at 235,235 households, representing 481,856 people, who together received $89,341,975 in benefits that month. Anyone in that group who buys candy or sweetened drinks with the card is the person the change reaches.
The rule follows the shopper, not the card. DSS says SNAP recipients from other states are also subject to the restrictions when they buy in South Carolina. A South Carolina card used in another state follows that state’s rules, which can differ.
Why the start moved to Nov. 1
The project was first set to begin Aug. 31. In late August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked South Carolina to delay it, and WIS-TV reported the new date as Nov. 1. North Dakota got the same request and moved its own start date to Nov. 1.
The delay followed a federal court ruling on June 22. In that case, called Aragon v. Rollins, a federal judge in Washington vacated USDA’s approval of similar waivers in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia. Newsweek reported that the ruling did not directly affect the South Carolina or North Dakota waivers, and that USDA asked both states to wait while it reviews the decision. USDA’s master list of food-restriction waivers, updated Oct. 2, shows no court order or stop notice for South Carolina and keeps Nov. 1 as its date.
What households can do before Nov. 1
DSS lists no required action, since nothing has to be filed or signed. The state says it will post updates on its website, through the SCCES portal, by text message, on social media, through press releases and at county offices. Questions go through the Healthy Food SC inquiry form. DSS says it will not rule on whether a specific item will be restricted, but it offers a general category document.
For anyone who stocks up on snacks or soda each month, the change is a budgeting matter. Items that no longer go on the card still have to be paid for, so the grocery list may need to be split between the EBT card and other money.
Keeping SNAP on track
The purchase limits do not replace the program’s ordinary paperwork. A household that misses a recertification or a required change report can lose benefits, whatever the card is allowed to buy. DSS runs those processes through the same state agency site that carries the Healthy Food SC pages.
A practical routine is to write the recertification date and any reporting deadline on a calendar before Nov. 1, next to the date the new limits begin. Households that use the card at more than one store, or shop across the state line, can also note which store rules apply where.
Both the Aug. 31 and Nov. 1 dates came from state and federal announcements, and USDA has said it is still reviewing the court ruling. Anyone who wants the current word can check the Healthy Food SC page and USDA’s waiver list for any change before the first of the month.
A new Nov. 1 rule and the same renewal dates
A household that watches the new candy and drink limits but misses a recertification can lose far more than a snack purchase. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer walks through SNAP recertification, sets up a date system for renewals and reporting, and includes a state pack for South Carolina among its 51.
Set up the South Carolina renewal and reporting calendar with the Renewal Organizer →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
