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Beginning Jan. 1, more than half a million low-income Indiana residents won’t be able to use government food assistance to buy sugary drinks or candy. And state officials are preparing retailers and participants for the changes.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is the nation’s largest anti-hunger initiative.
But leaders in Indiana and beyond aim to reshape what recipients can buy, citing poor public health metrics.
“This isn’t the usual top-down, one-size-fits-all public health agenda,” Gov. Mike Braun said in a Monday news release. “We’re focused on root causes … and taking on the problems in government programs that are contributing to making our communities less healthy.”
The changes, dubbed “Smart SNAP,” are part of the “Make Indiana Healthy Again” plan launched in April by Braun’s administration, with celebrity support.
That included an executive order directing FSSA to request federal permission to make the changes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the waiver in May.
Sugary drinks and candy are off the SNAP table beginning Jan. 1.
Those are defined as non-alcoholic beverages with natural or artificial sweeteners. Concoctions with milk or milk substitutes — soy, rice and so on — don’t count, and neither do drinks exclusively sweetened with real fruit or vegetable juice.
That means soda, energy drinks, sports drinks like Gatorade and sweetened iced tea are banned from SNAP uses, but unsweetened iced tea, fruit juice or electrolyte replacement drinks like Pedialyte are still covered, according to FSSA.
Candy, meanwhile, is defined as a preparation of sugar, honey or other sweeteners combined with chocolate, nuts, fruit or flavorings — not including products that require refrigeration.
Candy bars, marshmallows, fruit strips, popcorn and mints meet the definition, per FSSA, but ice cream, fruit itself and potato chips are still allowed.
Effective date nears
The agency has conducted “multiple” meetings with providers and contacted provider associations ahead of the Jan. 1 implementation date, the news release said.
Retailers must update their point-of-sale systems to exclude the soon-to-be restricted items, train staff on the changes and submit proof to FSSA.
Retailers and researchers have criticized the forthcoming bans, arguing it may particularly hurt businesses near state lines, as well as SNAP enrollees who don’t have regular access to a refrigerator, a stove or transportation — limiting their food options to whatever’s shelf stable.
More than 570,000 Hoosiers used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to help pay for groceries in September, according to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
They were issued a collective $111 million in benefits that month, or an average of about $195.00 per person.
SNAP benefits are provided on an electronic benefits transfer, or EBT, card. It’s used like a debit card and is accepted at most grocery stores.
SNAP enrollees already can’t purchase hot or prepared foods, alcoholic beverages, or tobacco under federal rules.
The benefit is 100% federally funded and administrative costs are split 50% with states — for now.
Indiana will likely be on the hook for more SNAP costs in the future, under President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
States will pay a percentage of benefit costs, depending on their error rates, starting October 2027. They’ll have to take on 75% of the administrative costs even sooner, beginning October 2026.
Those changes could cost Indiana up to $264 million more annually, according to FSSA estimates.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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