BATON ROUGE — A federal judge has struck down efforts by five states to restrict how Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients use their benefits. According to the Associated Press, the ruling prevents the federal government from prohibiting purchases of items such as candy and sugary drinks through the program.
Earlier this year, Louisiana was among 23 states that either implemented or proposed restrictions preventing SNAP recipients from using their EBT cards to purchase certain foods deemed non-nutritious. Louisiana’s restrictions took effect on Feb. 18. Louisiana is not one of the five states where the ban was blocked.
MORE: SNAP recipients barred from buying soft drinks, energy drinks, and candy with EBT card
According to the AP, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled June 22 that federal officials exceeded their authority by approving state requests that conflicted with the government’s own definition of “food.”
“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,” she wrote. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”
Federal law allows SNAP benefits to be used for “any food or food product for home consumption except alcoholic beverages, tobacco, hot foods or hot food products ready for immediate consumption.”
Jackson said that while the federal government can grant waivers to states under certain circumstances, improving nutrition is not among the reasons authorized by law. Yet states seeking restrictions on SNAP purchases asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to approve alternative definitions of what qualifies as food, according to the AP.
The Trump administration has not indicated whether it plans to appeal the ruling. However, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins suggested on social media that the administration intends to continue pursuing the policy.
SNAP participation declines
The ruling comes as SNAP enrollment continues to fall nationwide. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates SNAP participation dropped by more than 4 million people, roughly 10%, between July 2025 and March 2026.
The decline follows enactment of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4, 2025, which reduced federal spending on food assistance programs. The legislation included expanded work requirements and eliminated eligibility for some recipients based on immigration status.
According to the CBPP, Louisiana has experienced a 16% decline in SNAP participation during that period.
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