SNAP changes in 2026 reshape how millions stretch their monthly benefits

I knew that I was going to need some help to survive

SNAP isn't just a program. For millions, it's the line between hunger and hope

It's also a $100 billion annual investment from the federal government. Dawn Pierce relied on SNAP benefits for 17 months after losing her job in 2009

during one of the toughest economic downturns in American history. SNAP benefits give eligible low-income families money to buy food at the grocery store

The relief of knowing that you can feed your child or that nobody's going to think you're a bad mom because you don't have any food

But a fridge and freezer full of groceries can also come with stares and comments at the checkout line

That scrutiny, she says, does real harm, making families feel ashamed and less likely to get the food they need, widening the barrier that already exists for many communities reliant on government assistance

Hunger isn't about laziness. It isn't about poor choices. It isn't about not wanting to just get off the couch and get a job

What Don didn't expect was the judgment, the shame and the lessons in survival that would follow

And people love to say, just pull yourself up by your bootstraps

But when you're hungry and you are living in a poverty situation, you don't have boots to have straps to pull yourself up

Today, Don works for the nonprofit Hunger Free America, helping other families navigate SNAP and turn their survival stories into advocacy, starting with the first step, applying for benefits

You can't do anything if you're hungry. And if we don't address hunger and its root causes, every other system in our lives fail

SNAP is designed to reach families in poverty, according to the USDA. 73% of households that

use SNAP have an income at or below the poverty line 86 of all benefits go to the poorest families More than half go to those making less than half of the poverty level In 2024 SNAP fed an average of 41 million Americans every month

Federal spending reached nearly $100 billion, with benefits averaging just $187 per person

Each month, a little more than $2,200 annually. That's well below the average per capita grocery spending of $3,168 that year, according to the USDA

But while SNAP can be a lifeline, it comes with red tape, restrictions, and rules that can sometimes leave families stranded

Many states are adding soda, candy, and energy drinks to the list of items SNAP recipients can't buy with their SNAP funds

along with hot food, personal care products, alcohol, and tobacco. Nebraska was first, leading the nation on how federal aid is spent

Now when SNAP recipients reach for an ice-cold Coca-Cola or a monster to get through the day

they have to pay out of pocket. On May 19th, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stood alongside Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen

to sign a first-in-the-nation waiver. Probably 10 to 15 years ago, we started talking in the nutrition field about limiting SNAP purchases

In a statement to Straight Arrow News, a USDA spokesperson says it's a move that means billions of taxpayer dollars per year that have long subsidized unhealthy food and beverages will start to be preserved for healthier options

Governor Pillan and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services say the move is aimed at encouraging healthier choices and fighting obesity, especially among children and families

Pillan points to a University of Nebraska study that found seven in 10 Nebraskans are now obese

Kate Bauer, an associate professor in nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan, says the call for change comes from limited research comparing SNAP programs with and without restrictions

While we see some reductions in the amount of sugar beverages purchased when people get lookalike SNAP benefits with restrictions

Overall, it does not change their intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, and it doesn't change health outcomes

Bauer says the research really shows that families who use SNAP will still spend their own money on food, including on items like soda

She argues if government officials really cared about health, initiatives would focus on changing food culture rather than cutting snap

It's putting the burden on individuals. And it's putting that burden of not having access to certain products on the individuals who are the most nutritionally and socially and physically vulnerable

Robert Parlberg, an associate in Harvard's sustainability science program, says there is limited data to indicate whether this approach will meet the government's intended goals

because the USDA has denied requests from states to run tests that would measure what happens

if SNAP can't be used to buy sugary beverages. However, this waiver acts like a pilot program to collect missing data

It would be much better to find an entire state or a significant portion of a state

and test out this speculation, this hypothesis that health would improve if you removed sugary

beverages from foods eligible for purchase. He says without those studies, there's no real way

to know what impact a restriction might have. But what is clear, he says, is the obesity rate

Historically, sugar-sweetened beverages have been a leading contributor to excessive sugar consumption

and the obesity crisis in the United States. I mean, currently, 40% of American adults are clinically obese

Parlberg says SNAP's expansion over the years has helped reduce hunger across the nation

which is a success worth recognizing. You wouldn have to undo that progress by removing a single unhealthy product category from the foods that you can purchase with these benefits I wouldn reduce the size of the benefit I would just restrict in this one case foods that can be purchased with

the benefit. Nebraska isn't alone. Other states, including Arkansas, Indiana, Colorado, Florida

Idaho, Louisiana, and Iowa have also partnered with the USDA to block SNAP users from buying

sugary drinks. The American Beverage Association, which represents major players in the industry

has been vocal in opposing these waivers. And while officials blame sugary drinks for rising obesity rates

the industry pushes back, pointing to a 42 percent drop in beverage calories over the last decade

and claiming 60 percent of drinks Americans now buy contain zero sugar

Snap reform remains in the hands of state governors and the USDA, but could be up to Capitol Hill if Congress is able to move forward what's commonly referred to as the farm bill

Congress is paralyzed on so many things, especially now nutrition policy, because the SNAP program has always been a part of the Farm Bill, and we don't have a Farm Bill

U.S. lawmakers are supposed to approve a legislative package roughly every five years to help shape the nation's food and agricultural industries

It's a package that affects what Americans grow, what they eat, and who can afford it

But for the last three years, Congress has been deadlocked on pushing a new bill forward

Harlberg says until legislation is passed, local and state governments will work with the USDA to test if these restrictions improve public health

Secretary Rollins has said this is a part of our effort to make America healthy again

And maybe eventually, if these pilots provide dramatic results, maybe Congress will go on

Each state with a USDA-approved waiver will officially ban the purchase of sugary and energy drinks with SNAP benefits starting in 2026

Read more by downloading the Straight Arrow News mobile app or visit san.com

For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey