Prompted by incentives from the Trump administration, Vermont is planning to join a growing number of states banning certain unhealthy foods from the country’s largest anti-hunger program.
New state-level restrictions to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known locally as 3Squares Vermont, could go into effect as early as February 2027. About one in 10 Vermonters participate in the program.
State officials haven’t yet come up with the list of restricted foods, but say that a public comment period this spring will inform what’s in and what’s out.
Restricting food that SNAP recipients can use their benefits to buy requires a special waiver from the federal government. Previously, the U.S. Department of Agriculture denied such requests, citing research indicating they may not improve health outcomes and would be complex and expensive to implement.
But the second Trump administration has embraced restrictions on SNAP as a key part of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
“I call on every governor in the nation to submit a SNAP waiver to eliminate sugary drinks — taxpayer dollars should never bankroll products that fuel the chronic disease epidemic,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a June press release.
Restrictions on SNAP were also included in a list of policies that could boost states' scores as they seek funding from the $50 billion, 5-year Rural Health Transformation Program included in President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act. That’s what prompted Vermont to look into SNAP restrictions, according to Miranda Gray, deputy commissioner at the state’s Agency of Human Services’ Economic Services Division.
Vermont is set to receive $195 million from the rural health fund this year, and if all goes well, could receive close to $1 billion in total over the next five years. But only 7.5% of the total funding available nationally is tied to the adoption of Trump administration-backed policies, and it’s unclear how much Vermont stands to gain financially from restricting SNAP.
It’s unlikely that this year’s funding was impacted by Vermont’s lack of SNAP restrictions, according to Ashley Roy, a spokesperson for the Agency of Human Services, who added the state does not know whether future awards will be affected by its decision to request a waiver.
Junk food bans for SNAP are now in place or in the works in at least 18 states. But each state is defining what counts as unhealthy food differently, and sometimes in counterintuitive ways. In Idaho, for example, Twix candy bars are still allowed — but not flourless granola bars with chocolate chips, according to the New York Times.
That’s creating headaches for grocers, who will have to enforce the new regulations, and who can be booted from SNAP completely if they do so incorrectly.
Anti-hunger advocates in Vermont have echoed their national counterparts in sharply criticizing the move to ban certain foods from the SNAP program. What’s actually needed, they say, is further investments in programs that make healthier foods — which are often more expensive — more accessible.
Ivy Enoch, the director of policy and advocacy at Hunger Free Vermont, said such “experimental” restrictions weren’t supported by research, and risked stigmatizing low-income Vermonters at the checkout line. And she criticized Gov. Phil Scott’s administration for taking its cues from the president.
“Decisions that consistently align Vermont with the preferences of the federal administration — even when those policies harm Vermonters — is deeply concerning to us,” she said.
