INDIANAPOLIS — Starting January 1, 2026, SNAP recipients in Indiana will no longer be able to use their benefits to purchase sugary snacks and drinks.
The change impacts 450,000 Hoosiers and 5,000 retailers across the state, according to Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) Secretary Mitch Roob.
“This is an effort really to say the government is no longer going to subsidize the eating of food which we know to be non-nutritious and we know to be in the long run to be unhealthy,” Roob told WRTV in an interview on December 29.“If they want to buy that on their own, with money they earn, that’s fine. But we don’t think the government should be subsidizing that kind of dietary supplement.”
According to state data from FSSA, 66% of adult residents are overweight or obese, while 44% eat fruit less than once daily and 27% consume vegetables less than once daily…