Candy is one of four food groups that can no longer be purchased with benefits from Florida's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as of Monday. (David Allen/Patch)
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:
Soda
Refers to beverages made with carbonated water that are sweetened with added sugars or artificial sweeteners
Examples: Sprite, Coca-Cola, Diet Pepsi, 7Up, Canada Dry and Coke Zero
Includes regular, diet sodas and zero sugar carbonated beverages, as well as store brand varieties
Energy drinks
Drinks that contain 65 milligrams or more of caffeine per 8 ounces and are marketed to boost energy or alertness
Examples: Monster,Red Bull, Celsius, 5-Hour Energy and C4 Energy
Includes store brand varieties of energy drinks
Candy
Products 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 pieces
Examples: Annie's Fruit Snacks, Milky Way, Starburst, Haribo gummies and Ferrero Rocher
Includes trail mix containing candy, as well as chocolate-covered nuts, toffee and mints
Store brand varieties of candy included
Ultra-processed prepared desserts
Processed, shelf-stable, ready-to-eat and pre-packaged sweet food intended for immediate consumption without any further preparation
Includes foods mostly made out of "chemically" modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance and durability, with minimal whole foods
Includes Ho Hos, Twinkies, oatmeal creme pies, Swiss rolls, Benton's Original Chocolate Sandwich Cookies and Keebler Chips Deluxe
Includes store brand varieties
Officials also outlined the food items still available for purchase via SNAP, including:
Granola bars
Breakfast toaster strudels
Breakfast biscuits like Belvita
Breakfast toaster pastries like Pop-Tarts
Freshly prepared baked goods
Coffee
Tea
Sports drinks like Gatorade or Powerade
Plain or naturally flavored sparkling waters such as LaCroix, Waterloo, Polar and Bubly
Drinks that contain more than 50 percent juice or have less than 5 grams of added sugar per serving