About 3 million Floridians receiving SNAP benefits can no longer purchase certain food items deemed unhealthy by state officials.
The change took effect Monday and affects 12.8 percent of Florida’s population that receives benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Reportedly, the update will last through at least April 19, 2028.
According to Healthy Snap Florida, the following food items cannot be purchased with EBT as they offer little to no nutritional value: Soda, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed prepared desserts.
“Florida made this change to better align SNAP with its intended purpose: providing low-income households access to a more nutritious diet to help alleviate hunger and combat malnutrition. By excluding soda, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed shelf-stable prepared desserts, the state is taking a proactive step to ensure SNAP benefits are used for more nourishing foods,” said Healthy Snap Florida, a subset of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
With the latest adjustments to SNAP, officials said benefit amounts will not change, and recipients may continue shopping at stores authorized to accept the benefit. (Local retailers can be found using the federal locator tool.)
Here are the exclusions in detail:
SodaRefers to beverages made with carbonated water that are sweetened with added sugars or artificial sweetenersExamples: Sprite, Coca-Cola, Diet Pepsi, 7Up, Canada Dry and Coke ZeroIncludes regular, diet sodas and zero sugar carbonated beverages, as well as store brand varietiesEnergy drinksDrinks that contain 65 milligrams or more of caffeine per 8 ounces and are marketed to boost energy or alertnessExamples: Monster,Red Bull, Celsius, 5-Hour Energy and C4 Energy Includes store brand varieties of energy drinksCandyProducts made from sugar or artificial sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, caramel, gummies and hard candies or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops or piecesExamples: Annie’s Fruit Snacks, Milky Way, Starburst, Haribo gummies and Ferrero RocherIncludes trail mix containing candy, as well as chocolate-covered nuts, toffee and mintsStore brand varieties of candy includedUltra-processed prepared dessertsProcessed, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat and pre-packaged sweet food intended for immediate consumption without any further preparationIncludes foods mostly made out of “chemically” modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance and durability, with minimal whole foodsIncludes Ho Hos, Twinkies, oatmeal creme pies, Swiss rolls, Benton’s Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and Keebler Chips DeluxeIncludes store brand varieties
Officials also outlined the food items still available for purchase via SNAP, including:
Granola barsBreakfast toaster strudelsBreakfast biscuits like BelvitaBreakfast toaster pastries like Pop-Tarts Freshly prepared baked goods CoffeeTeaSports drinks like Gatorade or PoweradePlain or naturally flavored sparkling waters such as LaCroix, Waterloo, Polar and BublyDrinks that contain more than 50 percent juice or have less than 5 grams of added sugar per servingFruitsVegetablesGrainsMeatDairy
The following online retailers in Florida accept SNAP: