Federal judge voids SNAP restrictions on sugary foods in Tennessee, other states

A federal judge on Monday voided pilot programs that allowed a handful of states — including Tennessee — to restrict the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase soda and sugary processed foods.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who oversees SNAP, did not have the legal authority to approve the waivers, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in her opinion. 

The National Center for Law and Economic Justice and law firm Shinder Cantor Lerner sued Rollins in her official capacity over the food restriction waivers in March, representing five SNAP recipients in Tennessee, Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska and West Virginia.

Berman Jackson’s ruling applies to those states.

“With her solicitation and approval of the pilot projects in this case, the Secretary purports to waive not just a mere administrative or technical obstacle, but the very definition of ‘food’ as it was laid down by Congress,” Berman Jackson wrote.

The USDA also failed to post notice of the pilot projects in the Federal Register 30 days prior to implementation, something required of projects “likely to have a significant impact on the public.” The USDA’s statement that the projects would not have a significant public impact “is directly contrary to the facts in the administrative record,” the opinion states.

Rollins approved Tennessee’s waiver — which would block SNAP recipients from using their benefits to purchase items that list sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup or similar caloric alternatives as the first ingredient — in December. The waiver would also exclude beverages with carbonated water and sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or similar alternatives in the first two ingredients.

Tennessee planned to implement the restrictions starting on July 31.

Nearly 734,000 Tennesseans received about $1.4 billion in SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2022, according to the USDA. The average monthly benefit in Tennessee is $161 per person.

“The Court’s ruling is a major step in restoring essential food assistance to the millions of families that rely on SNAP nationwide,” National Center for Law and Economic Justice Senior Attorney Katharine Deabler-Meadows said Monday. “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.”

The waivers are part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Rollins. As of June 23, the USDA lists waiver approvals for 23 states.

“The Court’s analysis should not be taken as a comment on whether the pilot projects are a good idea or not. That is a question of policy that is not before the Court,” Berman Jackson wrote. “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. But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”