Federal court strikes WV’s SNAP restrictions on soda

by Lori Kersey, West Virginia Watch
June 23, 2026

A federal judge on Monday struck down a West Virginia pilot project that restricted recipients of the federal food assistance program SNAP from using their benefits to purchase soda. 

United States District Judge Amy Berman Jackson granted plaintiffs a summary judgement on Monday in a case brought by SNAP recipients from five states, including West Virginia, where the federal Department of Agriculture has approved SNAP waivers that restrict what foods can be purchased. 

Plaintiffs are represented by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and Shinder Cantor Lerner LLP.

The judge wrote that the section of law the USDA used to authorize the SNAP waivers doesn’t cover projects meant to improve the health of SNAP recipients and that the agency sidestepped the section that does address the projects, which has strict requirements. 

The USDA also failed to meet a requirement to post notice of pilot projects likely to have significant impact on the public in the federal register 30 days prior to implementation, the judge wrote. 

“The Court’s analysis should not be taken as a comment on whether the pilot projects are a  good idea or not,” Berman Jackson wrote. “That is a question of policy that is not before the Court. 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.”  

Katherine Deabler-Meadows, a senior attorney at the National Center for Law and Economic Justice, called the ruling a “huge win” for SNAP recipients in affected states. 

“It’s very helpful not just for SNAP recipients to be able to buy the foods that they need to buy with their benefits, but it’s also really important for just general access to food,” she said. “These restrictions are very, very onerous for retailers to actually comply with. 

“It costs a lot of money, it requires a lot of resources, and so there was a real risk that with these restrictions in place that retailers would stop participating in SNAP, and that, then any SNAP recipient who lived in that community wouldn’t have anywhere to use their benefits,” she said. “So we’ve avoided those consequences in the five states that were included in this case.”

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey formally requested the SNAP waiver to restrict soda purchases last spring. It was part of Morrisey’s  “Four Pillars of a Healthy West Virginia.” The USDA approved the SNAP waiver in August, and the restrictions took effect Jan. 1. 

The state’s SNAP ban included regular soda, diet soda and zero-calorie soda, but did not include water, milk, juice or energy drinks. The state defines soda as “any carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage that contains water, a sweetening agent, flavoring, and carbon dioxide gas to create carbonation.”

In a statement Tuesday,  Lars Dalseide,  a spokesman for Morrisey’s office, said “We are disappointed by the court’s decision but remain convinced that precious taxpayer subsidized resources should only be spent on healthy, nutritious food for those who need help the most.

“Our commitment to improving the health of West Virginians has not changed, and we will continue to advance commonsense policies that encourage healthier choices and better outcomes,” he said.

The state Department of Human Services did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.

The USDA referred a West Virginia Watch reporter to USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ post about the ruling on the social media platform X. 

In the post, Rollins called Berman Jackson an “activist judge” who blocked a “commonsense restriction” on using SNAP benefits for “soda and junk.” 

“SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families,” she wrote. “Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at the expense of American health. This administration will keep fighting to Make America Healthy Again.”

In a statement Tuesday, a USDA spokesman wrote that “the idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial. USDA will not be backing down from the fight to Make America Healthy Again, including for families and communities reliant on SNAP.”

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.