What you need to know about changes coming to SNAP benefits with new federal waiver

The federal government has approved the state’s waiver aimed at “reducing the purchase of nonnutritive food and drink items will enhance public health, reduce long-term healthcare costs, and align the program with its original purpose of improving food security through nutritious food access.”

Related: Candy, soda to be removed from SNAP benefits under federal waiver

What will be excluded from purchases with SNAP benefits?

Candy

1. “Candy” means any solid, semi-solid, or molded preparation of sugar, sweeteners (natural or artificial), or chocolate, with or without added ingredients such as flavorings, fruit, nuts, or flour, that is commonly marketed, advertised, or recognized as candy, chocolate bar, chewing gum, or similar confectionery.
2. Examples include: chocolate bars (including products containing flour such as Kit Kat, Twix, or similar items), hard candies, gummies, caramels, taffy, licorice, mints, and chewing gum.

Soft drinks

1. “Soft drink” means any nonalcoholic beverage that contains natural or artificial sweeteners, including soda, pop, cola, energy drinks, sports drinks, and flavored water. Any product, regardless of its ingredients or labeling, that is marketed, labeled, or advertised as a soda, pop, cola, energy drink, or energy supplement.
2. Examples include: carbonated sodas, non-carbonated sweetened beverages, energy drinks, energy supplements, and sports drinks (whether or not carbonated), sweetened bottled or canned teas and lemonades, flavored waters with added sweeteners.

Related: Trump administration approves Oklahoma request to remove some foods from SNAP

What will still be included in purchases with SNAP benefits?

Baked goods

1. Cakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, pastries, bread, or similar products that are typically subject to Cottage Food Laws or Food Freedom Laws; 
2. Items primarily identified and sold as bakery or bread products, regardless of sweetener content.

Milk and fruit beverages, coffee and tea

1. Beverages that contain milk or milk substitutes, soy, rice, or similar dairy alternative ingredients, or that contain more than 50 percent, by volume, of fruit or vegetable juice.
2. Coffee or unsweetened tea, 100% fruit or vegetable juice, or beverages containing more than 50% juice by volume, Milk, milk substitutes, dairy-based drinks, or similar beverages. 

Process to implement these changes: 

Each individual grocery store will have to look at the waiver and re-code the items that are no longer included. Bernard says this can lead to different practices at different stores, and remove the current seamless process of SNAP.

“It's not gonna pay for toilet paper, toothpaste, that sort of stuff, and so if you have that in one bill it may be you have to produce another type of payment,” said Bernard. “If you have a grocer who doesn't understand the rules and says that's candy, they may choose to ban it in their system, and then it’s going to be up to DHS to monitor that and force that vendor to comply."

Hunger Free Oklahoma says this process may take longer than a few months to implement, saying re-coding each item that will no longer be allowed is a time-consuming process.

“As written, it says it will take place on January 1st, but actually figuring out the definitions and how to implement, I think there’s a significant chance that gets pushed beyond that time,” said Bernard.   

SNAP statistics in Oklahoma

USDA data shows that in 2024, more than 686,000 Oklahoma residents, or 17% of the state, used SNAP benefits. Most of those people were below the state poverty line. The report also shows that SNAP provided $6 a day per person.

“SNAP does not make up anyone’s whole food budget because it’s not enough. They use their own money too. So if you tell them you can’t use that to buy that and they still want it, they’re just going to use their own money," Bernard said. "So it doesn’t change behaviors, it's just creating more red tape and bureaucracy so we have a talking point that sounds good."