Gov. Kay Ivey signed SB57 into law on Wednesday, moving Alabama toward restricting SNAP purchases of candy and soda if federal officials approve the state’s waiver request. The measure would bar the use of food benefits for items defined in the bill as candy and for certain sodas, and it could take effect on Oct. 1 if the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service signs off.
If approved, the changes would affect around 750,000 Alabamians who use SNAP, the federal program that helps low-income individuals and families buy food. The bill says candy includes products whose primary ingredients list sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup, covering chocolate bars, candy and chewing gum but not prepared desserts, bakery items or ingredients used for baking and cooking. Soda is defined as beverages listing, as the first two ingredients, any combination of carbonated water and sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup. Diet sodas would still be allowed.
The legislation was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Arthur Orr and Republican state Rep. Reed Ingram, and it reached Ivey’s desk after the Alabama Senate passed it last week once the House agreed to drop an amendment that would have banned energy drinks. Retailers who accidentally accept SNAP benefits for candy and soda more than three times in a fiscal year could face fines or penalties if the waiver is approved.
Ivey cast the bill as a public-health move. “We are promoting healthier diets for Alabama SNAP beneficiaries by restricting the purchase of sugary foods that contribute to obesity and diabetes,” she said, adding that the measure and other legislation “lay a solid foundation” as the state partners with the Trump Administration on rural healthcare delivery.
Orr argued the change could affect obesity and Medicaid costs in a state he described as “one of the most obese states in the country.” He said a large share of the Medicaid population is also on SNAP and that the bill “may affect the obesity rate and thereby also reduce our Medicaid cost.”
Critics say the policy is unlikely to move health outcomes much and places another limit on households that already stretch each food dollar. Chelsea Edwards said low-income houses often rely on higher-calorie foods to meet their energy needs because they need to maximize calories per dollar, and said access to fruits and vegetables in food deserts would do more. The waiver is the gatekeeper here: without federal approval, Alabama Snap Benefits Restrictions stay on paper, not at the checkout line.
