Politics & Government

SNAP Changes In FL: Which Foods You Can No Longer Buy

The new rules to the SNAP program affect about 3 million Florida residents. Here are foods that EBT recipients can no longer buy.

Amanda Lumpkin, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
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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.

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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.

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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
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Grains
  • Meat
  • Dairy

The following online retailers in Florida accept SNAP:

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