Thanks to MAHA, Several States Just Implemented Bans on Using SNAP Benefits for Junk Food; also, A Friend of the Blog Is Running for Statewide Office in Nevada

Week after week, and on issue after issue, the Trump administration has given voters like me occasion to say, “This is what I voted for.” Here is yet another example.

January 1 marked the commencement of several state-level bans on the use of SNAP benefits (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program” ) to purchase junk food. This was made possible by actions of the Trump administration, through the US Department of Agriculture, and in coordination with the Make America Healthy Again initiatives of HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr.

Specifically, the USDA granted individual states the authority to implement waivers to federal regulations, thus allowing state-level determination of food products which may be considered ineligible for federal SNAP benefits. RFK Jr. was recently quoted as saying, “We cannot continue a system that forces taxpayers to fund programs that make people sick, and then pay a second time to treat the illnesses those very programs help create.”

18 states have taken advantage of this opportunity, and the first junk food prohibitions on SNAP benefits were implemented on January 1, 2026. Those states were Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia.

“Soda, candy cut for many SNAP users starting January 1. What states are affected?” [USA Today – 12/30/2025]

Millions of SNAP recipients are about to face new limitations on what they can use the federal assistance program to buy, including bans on soda, energy drinks and candy, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The Trump Administration is leading bold reform to strengthen integrity and restore nutritional value within the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," the USDA said in a statement about the upcoming changes.

Should the federal government be telling people what food products they can and cannot consume? Of course not. Individuals can spend their own money on whatever they want. But the taxpayers who are funding SNAP have every right to demand that welfare money not be used on junk food.

"Every American who wants to eat a donut ought to be able to eat it or drink a Coke," Kennedy said in early 2025. "But the federal taxpayer should not be paying to poison our children. And we're going to end that."

13 more states will be rolling out various junk food bans on SNAP benefits later this year, including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Colorado, Florida, Arkansas, Idaho, Hawaii, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Companies that have come to rely on the taxpayer-subsidized SNAP revenue stream are not happy.

“Big Sugar Ramps Up Lobbying Efforts as SNAP Soda Ban Spreads” [Bloomberg Government – 7/30/2025]

Food and beverage influence groups boosted lobbying efforts as more than a dozen states seek to block federal food aid recipients from using benefits to purchase sugary products.

The American Beverage Association, which lobbies for Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., and other non-alcoholic drink makers, spent $1.7 million in the first half of 2025—more than double its outlay during the same period last year.

Grocery chains also lobbied hard to keep revenue from the taxpayer subsidization of junk food rolling in. A report by the National Grocers Association argued that prohibiting SNAP users from purchasing junk food would cost grocers about $1.6 billion initially, and another $759 million going forward. Apparently, a dollar spent on milk instead of soft drinks hits the income statement differently.

Even if I weren’t still upset at PepsiCo and Coca-Cola for their left-wing activism during the great awokening, I would still find it offensive that these prominent corporations are fighting so hard to be on the receiving end of redistributed taxpayer wealth.

Eighteen states placing restrictions on the use of SNAP benefits to purchase junk food is a great start. Many more need to join this health initiative.

Other Stuff I’m Writing About

My latest piece at The American Spectator has been published, with the title, “The War on Labor Expense is Renormalizing Slavery, Just in a 21st Century Form”

If this type of slave labor offends our sensibilities when it occurs in Georgia, why is it acceptable for manufacturing that is outsourced to China to use the same labor system? The acceptance of slave labor anywhere in our supply chain makes the domestic acceptance of slavery possible.

Even the use of foreign children as slave labor is becoming disturbingly common again in the United States. Last summer, a raid on illegal labor at a California marijuana farm resulted in the detention of 10 minors, some as young as 14, all foreign nationals, and some of whom were “unaccompanied.” There are more delicate terms that could be used, but the simple fact is that these children were slaves, living on a marijuana plantation, and being held as chattel by the property supervisor.

This article is not behind a paywall. I’d be honored if you’d give it a read.

A Friend of the Blog (Jeffrey Carter) Is Running for Nevada State Treasurer

Jeffrey Carter, who is a loyal Ace of Spades reader, and who also writes the widely-read and frequently linked “Points and Figures” substack, is running for Nevada State Treasurer.

Jeff and I have become friends over the past few years, and I have come to greatly value his insights. On more than one occasion I have written that Points & Figures is one of the most educational blogs I read. I am also humbled that he has linked and discussed some of my posts over the years.

We became acquainted when Jeff contacted me after I published a piece in 2022 expressing my concern about the WWII Museum in New Orleans going woke, because its new Liberation Pavilion was straying into post-war, civil rights issues. Jeff had served on the board of the WWII Museum and was very respectful of my concerns. He also shared that piece of mine with the then-current members of the museum’s board.

Mr. Carter has a background in commodity trading and venture capital, and as a refugee from Illinois he understands the destruction that Democrats impose when they have unchecked power. He is an unabashed Trump supporter in a circle of people who are often self-muzzled, if not openly hostile to Trump. This is his official announcement: “Jeff Carter for Nevada State Treasurer: Fight Waste & Fraud, Invest Tax Dollars Wisely”

A state Treasurer position can be powerful, with control over how money is deposited and invested. Riley Moore (who I first wrote about back in 2022) used his position as West Virginia State Treasurer to start the state-level pushback against woke money managers when he yanked state investments from Black Rock due its anti-carbon political activism. Jeff is also promising to “ensure the Nevada Treasurer’s office isn’t beholden to investing in ESG or DEI projects, allowing it to focus solely on generating the best ROI.” A Democrat Treasurer would never make that promise.

Although my primary interest in Nevada politics is my concern about California expats colonizing the entire western US and imposing woke-sharia, I am proud to endorse my friend Jeffrey Carter in the Republican primary for Nevada State Treasurer. I have contributed to his campaign at this link.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

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