Four More States Tightened Rules on SNAP Purchases, and Some Everyday Grocery Staples Are Caught Up

Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Virginia began new SNAP purchase restrictions on November 1, 2026, according to USDA notices published in the Federal Register on November 3. The new rules affect what can be bought with benefits, and the covered products range from sweetened drinks to candy, energy drinks, and some prepared desserts.

For grocery shoppers and home cooks, the practical issue is simple: a product that scans as SNAP-eligible in one state may not qualify in another. That patchwork is now wider, and some familiar pantry and checkout lane items are part of it.

What changed in the four states

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration said the projects in all four states took effect November 1, 2026. In the Federal Register, the agency said South Carolina’s project excludes “candy, energy drinks, soft drinks, and sweetened beverages,” North Dakota’s excludes “soft drinks,” “energy drinks,” and “candy,” and Virginia’s excludes “sweetened beverages.” Montana’s project excludes “high-sugar beverages, energy drinks, candy, and prepared desserts.”

The provided FoodNavigator report adds more detail on how uneven these definitions can be in day to day shopping. In Montana, the report says SNAP funds cannot be used for certain energy drinks above specific caffeine thresholds and with stimulant ingredients, while coffee, tea, and beverages that are substantially coffee or tea based are not included. The same report says Montana also bars shelf-stable prepared desserts, but not store-made bakery items.

South Carolina and Montana do not define every affected product in the same way, according to the same report. That matters because a bottled drink, snack bar, or dessert item may be treated differently across state lines, even when it looks like a standard grocery staple on the shelf.

Why the rules are drawing so much attention

The USDA notices say most comments submitted on the South Carolina and North Dakota projects opposed the restrictions, citing concerns about participant choice, retailer burden, and consumer confusion. Supporters, as summarized in the notices, said the projects could advance SNAP’s nutrition goals and promote what they called responsible use of taxpayer-funded benefits.

The legal backdrop is still unsettled. FoodNavigator reported that a federal lawsuit filed on March 11 challenged USDA’s authority to approve similar waivers, and that in June a judge vacated waivers in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. According to the report, that ruling did not extend to waivers in other states, which is why these four newer programs were still able to move forward.

That mix of active approvals and court challenges has left retailers and brands watching closely. It also means shoppers may run into changing checkout rules depending on the state and the exact product category involved.

What it could mean for grocery carts and food brands

Early sales data cited by FoodNavigator suggests the restrictions are already changing buying patterns in states where waivers were active earlier in 2026. Circana data presented in July showed soda spending per SNAP household in waiver states fell 8% in the first quarter, while the share of SNAP trips including soda fell 9 percentage points year over year. The same presentation showed candy purchase incidence falling from 22.5% to 16.2%, and energy drink trip incidence falling from 10.2% to 5.4%.

FoodNavigator also cited Ibotta receipt data showing soda purchases in Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia fell 15% in the first quarter, compared with a 7.5% decline in non-waiver states. Numerator, in a May 26 report cited by the publication, estimated restrictions in states expected to have waivers by year end could lead to as much as $830 million in lost sales across soda, candy, and energy drinks.

The rollout is not over. USDA’s waiver tracker, as summarized in the provided reporting and corroborated by USDA search results, shows more approved state programs scheduled after November 2026, including Kansas, Missouri, Wyoming, Hawaii, Ohio, and Nevada. For now, the immediate takeaway for shoppers is that some ordinary beverages, sweets, and dessert items may no longer ring up the same way with SNAP benefits in these four states.