Wyoming and Kansas have both won federal approval to stop SNAP shoppers from using benefits on certain drinks and sweets, and the start dates are close together. Wyoming’s restriction on sweetened, carbonated beverages is set for February 1, 2027. Kansas’s ban on candy and soft drinks follows on February 15, 2027. Both dates are targets in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s own tracker.
Wyoming, February 1
USDA’s Wyoming waiver page says Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins approved the state’s request, made January 7, in a letter dated March 4, 2026. The waiver runs two years from February 1, 2027, and changes the SNAP definition of food to exclude “sweetened, carbonated beverages.” The list is a single category. Candy is not on it.
Wyoming’s list is narrower than Kansas’s. USDA’s table records only sweetened, carbonated beverages for the state, with no candy and no other drinks named.
Kansas, February 15
Kansas received its approval the same day, March 4, 2026, after asking on May 5, 2025. The Kansas waiver page says the restriction takes effect February 15, 2027, for two years, and removes “candy” and “soft drinks” from what SNAP will pay for.
For a household, the question is when this reaches their state and what is on the list. In Wyoming it is sweetened, carbonated drinks from February 1. In Kansas it is candy and soft drinks from February 15, two weeks later. A SNAP shopper in either state keeps the same monthly benefit, but the items that can be rung up on the EBT card shrink, so the difference has to be paid in cash or by another card.
Wyoming and Kansas households will see their SNAP rules change in February while renewal and reporting dates keep running on their own calendar. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer has 51 state packs, including Wyoming’s and Kansas’s, and a renewal and reporting calendar for keeping those dates in one place.
Get the Wyoming or Kansas pack and the February calendar →
Kansas has said how it will define those terms. Reporting by the Kansas Reflector says the state will borrow definitions from its existing food sales tax laws. Candy excludes any preparation containing flour that needs no refrigeration, and soft drinks are nonalcoholic beverages with natural or artificial sweeteners, excluding milk-based drinks, milk substitutes and beverages that are more than 50 percent fruit or vegetable juice by volume. Gov. Laura Kelly, who announced the approval, urged USDA to reduce “confusion and uncertainty” for retailers and recipients. Senate President Ty Masterson said “Kansas is now a part of the MAHA (Make American Healthy Again) movement.”
Other states on the calendar, and one court ruling
USDA’s food restriction table, last updated October 2, lists other states with their own dates. Missouri’s is also February 15, 2027, covering candy, prepared desserts and certain beverages, after USDA moved it from an original October 1, 2026 start in a June 15 approval. Nevada’s is February 1, 2028. The Missouri change shows that target dates can move.
Courts have also changed the picture. On June 22, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in Aragon et al. v. Rollins et al., ordered USDA’s approval of the waivers vacated for Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, and said their implementation may not proceed. USDA’s Nebraska page, for example, now says the original waiver is vacated and a new request filed September 1 is under review. Wyoming and Kansas are not among the five states in that order, and USDA’s pages for them list no court action or delay. Target dates in the table have changed before, so households in either state should watch USDA’s page for updates.
What to expect at the register in February
The official source is USDA’s food restriction waiver page, which lists each state’s target implementation date and restricted items. Your state’s SNAP agency, Wyoming’s or Kansas’s, will send notices and post the product lists as the dates get closer, and grocers will update their registers.
Until then, nothing changes. Benefits can be used on all eligible food through January in both states. Households that buy soda or candy regularly can look at their February grocery list now and decide how to cover those items out of pocket. Keep an eye on renewal dates in the meantime, since a missed renewal costs the whole benefit rather than a few items.
February 1 and 15 are not the only SNAP dates
Wyoming’s restriction starts February 1, 2027 and Kansas’s on February 15, but a SNAP household also has renewal and reporting dates that a missed notice can turn into a lost benefit. The SNAP & Medicaid Renewal Organizer has 51 state packs and a renewal and reporting calendar so those dates are tracked next to the new rules.
Keep SNAP reporting dates straight in the Renewal Organizer alongside the soda rules →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
