BRIDGEPORT, W.Va (WDTV) – A federal judge has blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval of pilot projects that restricted what some SNAP recipients could buy, including West Virginia’s ban on using SNAP benefits to purchase soda.
In Monday’s ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with SNAP recipients who sued the USDA over the approvals in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.
The case challenged USDA approval letters allowing states to waive the federal definition of “food” under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in order to restrict certain purchases, such as soda and candy.
Jackson ruled the USDA did not have authority under the section of federal law it relied on to approve the projects, saying the agency used the wrong provision for health-focused restrictions. The judge also found USDA did not follow its own regulation requiring a Federal Register notice for pilot projects likely to have a significant impact on the public.
“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,” 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.”
In West Virginia, the restriction that took effect Jan. 1, 2026, barred SNAP purchases of soda — defined in the state’s waiver as a carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage with a sweetening agent — while leaving items like milk, juice and water eligible, according to court records.
Jackson’s ruling vacated and sent back the USDA approval letters for the five states, including West Virginia.
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