Food stamps won’t buy you Coke and Mountain Dew in Ohio starting October

Ohio restricts soda buys with SNAP

The USDA approved Ohio’s request to ban sugary carbonated drinks from SNAP purchases, with the rule kicking in on Oct. 1, 2026.

The restriction covers beverages that list sugar, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or similar sweeteners as a main ingredient.

It also applies to drinks where carbonated water comes first and a sweetener comes second.

In plain terms, that means most regular sodas and sweetened fizzy drinks are off the table for Ohio’s roughly 1.4 million SNAP recipients.

Diet soda and juice stay on the list

Not everything is affected. Water, milk, milk alternatives, and 100% fruit or vegetable juice with no added sugar all remain eligible. Diet sodas get a pass too, since they don’t contain caloric sweeteners.

Infant formula, medical foods, and special dietary products are also untouched.

The line is drawn specifically at sugary carbonated drinks, so SNAP shoppers can still buy most of what they already do. The change targets one narrow category.

Governor DeWine formed a working group

This didn’t happen overnight. Gov. Mike DeWine put together a working group in June 2025 to study the issue.

The group met four times over three months and heard from health experts, retailers, and other stakeholders. They looked at nutrition data, children’s health research, and how SNAP works in practice.

Ohio then sent its formal waiver request to the USDA in October 2025. About five months later, the federal government said yes.

Health concerns drove Ohio’s decision

Health experts on the working group pointed to ties between sugary drinks and obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. The group concluded that many of these drinks offer little to no nutritional value.

Matt Damschroder, director of Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services, called it “a meaningful step toward better health outcomes” for Ohioans on food assistance.

About 12% of Ohio’s population uses SNAP benefits, so the change reaches a wide group.

Ohio built its definition for easy checkout

The working group designed the definition to be simple for stores to enforce and easy for shoppers to understand. It relies on what appears on a product’s Nutrition Facts label, as regulated by the FDA.

The group modeled Ohio’s approach after waivers already approved in other states, according to a report from the working group.

Health care and infant nutrition representatives made sure the rules protect access to medical foods and infant formula, which stay fully covered.

Stores get six months to adjust

Retailers will get a six-month grace period to update their systems without facing penalties. The state plans to focus enforcement on stores, not on SNAP shoppers.

But the retail community has raised concerns. Updating point-of-sale systems, retraining staff, and changing workflows all cost time and money.

Small and independent stores may struggle the most, since they have fewer resources. Stores near state borders could also face confusion from different rules in neighboring states.

Ohio joins 21 other approved states

Ohio was one of four states the USDA approved on March 4, along with Kansas, Nevada, and Wyoming. That brings the total to 22 states with SNAP food restriction waivers.

Five states, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Utah, and West Virginia, were the first to start enforcing bans on Jan. 1, 2026.

The waivers fall under the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, and each one runs for two years.

Federal policy took a sharp turn

SNAP benefits have been usable for nearly any food or drink since 1964, with exceptions only for alcohol, tobacco, and hot prepared foods.

The USDA had turned down every previous waiver request, citing cost, complexity, and a lack of evidence that restrictions change buying habits.

The current administration reversed that stance and began encouraging states to apply. According to a federal tracker from the USDA, Nebraska became the first state to win approval in May 2025.

Early states report shopper confusion

States that started enforcing bans in January have seen confusion on both sides of the checkout counter.

In Iowa, restrictions follow the state tax code, which has led to odd results where some granola bars are banned but certain candy bars with flour are not.

West Virginia shoppers have struggled to figure out what counts as soda.

Anti-hunger groups and retailers say checkout lines are longer and customer complaints are up, as reported by Civil Eats. The USDA said it is working with states to address the problems.

Critics doubt the bans will work

Anti-hunger groups argue the restrictions don’t address the root causes of poor nutrition, like food deserts and high grocery prices. The Food Research and Action Center has spoken out against the policy.

Nutrition experts say evidence that SNAP soda bans improve health outcomes is limited.

Critics also point out that recipients may simply use cash for soda and shift SNAP dollars to other items, meaning the policy could change how soda gets paid for but not whether people buy it.

The working group pushed for more

The group didn’t stop at soda. They recommended that Ohio invest in programs that match SNAP dollars for fruits and vegetables, like Produce Perks.

They also suggested seeking a separate waiver to let SNAP cover rotisserie chicken, which is currently banned as a hot prepared food.

The group called for strong monitoring of the pilot’s effects and asked the state legislature to fund a 60-day awareness campaign for recipients and retailers.

Ohio starts preparing for October

Ohio officials will spend the coming months updating systems and spreading the word.

The state’s Department of Job and Family Services said it will begin notifying retailers and SNAP recipients in the coming weeks.

The waiver runs for two years, and the state must evaluate its impact, tracking health measures like A1C levels, blood pressure, and cavity rates.

At the federal level, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said more state waivers are expected soon. Some states are already talking about expanding their lists of restricted items.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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