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May 21, 2025 |  By: Associated Press

Nebraska is the first state to see the changes to SNAP benefits

SNAP logo

Photo credits to Feeding America

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps.

The move, announced Monday by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, would affect about 152 thousand people in Nebraska enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which helps families pay for groceries.

“There’s absolutely zero reason for taxpayers to be subsidizing purchases of soda and energy drinks,” Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen said in a statement. “SNAP is about helping families in need get healthy food into their diets, but there’s nothing nutritious about the junk we’re removing with today’s waiver.”

Six other states — Iowa, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Indiana, and West Virginia — have also submitted requests for waivers banning certain foods and drinks or, in some cases, expanding access to hot foods for participants, according to the USDA.