New research has revealed that new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) restrictions have reduced sugary drink purchases among food stamp recipients.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: Soda purchases among SNAP recipients have declined following the Trump administration’s new restrictions on unhealthy food and drinks, according to a new study. 📺 DETAIL: The new restrictions are part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) drive, led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The new restrictions allow states to redefine SNAP-eligible items. According to a new study by researchers from the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University, state-level restrictions on soda purchases for SNAP recipients led to a 12.4 percent reduction in soda purchases between January and June this year. This equates to approximately 34 fewer 12-ounce cans per person annually. The study tracked 15,000 SNAP households. The study revealed that the new restrictions had an unexpectedly large impact. Researchers initially suspected that SNAP recipients would use other funds to purchase soda. “In our paper, we show that the effects are sustained over six months… [I]t’s likely that the effects will be sustained over an even longer time, but it’s possible that the effects will decrease,” said Hunt Allcott, economist at Stanford University and co-author of the study. At the time of reporting, eight states have issued bans on soda being purchased with food stamps, along with other unhealthy items, with more states expected to follow. 💬 KEY QUOTE: “A 12.4 percent decrease is larger than most researchers had predicted, and indeed larger than I had predicted,” said Hunt Allcott. 🎯 IMPACT: This represents a major victory for the MAHA movement. It also coincides with figures showing that SNAP enrollment has dropped by more than 13 percent in just one year amid a crackdown on welfare fraud. Specifically, SNAP enrollment fell from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May this year. The decline in SNAP enrollment occurred much faster than predicted, further showing that the effectiveness of MAHA and anti-fraud policies continues to be underestimated. Researchers estimate that a nationwide ban on SNAP soda purchases could generate $1.2 billion annually in net benefits. |
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