Food stamp recipients sue USDA over restrictions on candy, energy drinks
A group of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), challenging the agency’s new food restriction waivers that limit what recipients can buy with their benefits.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, involves five SNAP participants from Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia. They are represented by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), a nonprofit organization that advocates for low-income families. The plaintiffs contend that the USDA’s pilot programs, which bar the purchase of items like junk food, soda, energy drinks, and other “non-nutritious” products, unfairly restrict access to essential foods. So far, the USDA has approved 22 such waivers, with rules varying by state.
The USDA declined to comment on the legal action, referring questions to the Justice Department’s Office of Public Affairs.
According to the lawsuit, the restrictions provide no exceptions for individual medical or nutritional needs. Recipients and retailers are tasked with interpreting whether each product qualifies under a state’s modified definition of “food.” The suit highlights the case of Amanda Johnson, a Tennessee resident whose teenage daughter has avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Under the new waiver rules, Johnson would be unable to buy the foods her daughter can safely eat.
“Because of her daughter’s ARFID, she can safely consume only a very limited number of ‘safe foods,’” the complaint states. “If she is unable to eat those foods, the only alternative is nutrition through a feeding tube. Her doctors have instructed Plaintiff Johnson to provide her daughter with whatever foods she can tolerate to prevent nutritional decline and invasive medical procedures.”
The plaintiffs argue that the USDA’s actions violate the Administrative Procedures Act. They are seeking a court ruling to declare the pilot programs illegal, pause the implementation of approved waivers, block any waivers not yet in effect, and stop any active waivers.
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