Court blocks plan to exempt soda from Colorado SNAP benefits
Sara Wilson
(Colorado Newsline) Colorado’s plan to carve out soda and sugary beverages from items available to buy with food nutrition benefits faced a hurdle in federal court this week.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, in Washington, D.C., ruled on Monday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its secretary inappropriately used federal law to solicit and approve pilot programs in a handful of states, including Colorado, to restrict the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program money on unhealthy foods.
“The section of the statute the Secretary relies upon as authorization to approve the projects at issue … does not cover projects aimed towards improving the health of SNAP recipients, and the agency sidestepped the section of the statute that does address those projects, section 2026(k) – which sets out strict requirements they must meet – entirely,” Berman wrote.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins relied on a section of statute that allows SNAP pilot programs that might increase efficiency in the program’s administration, and Berman determined that Rollins misapplied the law when encouraging and approving programs targeting unhealthy foods. A separate part of statute allows pilot programs that address health issues such as obesity and chronic disease, but it also explicitly disallows waivers of specific food products in those projects.
“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals. But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way,” she continued.
Colorado was one of about two dozen states to submit waiver requests to the Trump administration to exempt some unhealthy foods from SNAP benefits by changing the federal definition of food. Colorado was the first state led by a Democrat to receive the waiver. The waiver strategy is one of the pillars of the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reform the country’s food systems.
More than 600,000 people in Colorado rely on SNAP money, which comes from the federal government, to help with groceries each month. Colorado’s waiver focused on sugary beverages with at least 5 grams of sweetener per 12 ounces, while other states also focused on energy drinks and candy. The waiver was approved last August by the federal government, but the state’s human services board refused to vote on the policy.
SNAP recipients in five states then sued over the waivers with the help of the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and Shinder Cantor Lerner LLP. The Colorado plaintiff, Nieves Aragon, has Type I diabetes, and argued in the lawsuit that the small cans of soda targeted in the waiver are quick and reliable ways to get her blood sugar under control.
“The Court’s ruling is a major step in restoring essential food assistance to the millions of families that rely on SNAP nationwide,” Katharine Deabler-Meadows, senior attorney at the NCLEJ, said in a statement. “This decision makes clear that the USDA cannot bypass the legal guardrails that establish how SNAP must operate across the country. It affirms that families deserve a program that works without confusion.”
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said in a statement Tuesday that he wants Congress to prevent SNAP benefits from being used for sugary drinks through the federal Farm Bill. The state is reviewing the ruling to see if there’s the possibility for “more action to support better nutrition for low-income families under current law.”
“I’m disappointed in this ruling, which will lead to higher diabetes rates and more tooth decay and dental bills for people,” he said. “Supporting Coloradans who rely on taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits to make healthy choices, including avoiding sugary drinks, is an important way to improve health and lower healthcare costs.”
Polis signed an executive order in May focused on healthy eating that bans state agencies from using tax dollars to purchase alcohol or soda for official state events.