On an Arkansas grocery shelf, the percentage printed on a juice carton now matters to a SNAP card. The state’s food restriction waiver, in force since July 1, 2026, bars low-calorie and no-calorie soda along with fruit and vegetable drinks that contain less than 50% natural juice. Candy and other “unhealthy” drinks are on the list too.
The Arkansas list, item by item
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Arkansas waiver page lists the restricted items as soda, low and no-calorie soda, fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% natural juice, other unhealthy drinks and candy. The Arkansas governor’s office described the same package in a July 1 release, calling out “soft drinks, including low- and no-calorie sodas,” fruit and vegetable drinks under the 50% line, candy and other unhealthy beverages.
The inclusion of low- and no-calorie soda is the notable piece. A shopper who switches from a regular soda to a diet version to stay inside a budget or a diet plan finds the substitute barred as well. Sugar content is not what the Arkansas rule tests, at least for the soda category, where the state names low and no-calorie versions outright. The wording leaves no diet exception for a shopper to lean on.
Where a juice drink lands relative to the 50% line
The juice rule is written as a threshold. By the wording, a fruit or vegetable drink with less than 50% natural juice falls into the restricted group, and one at or above that share does not. Products marketed with fruit on the label can sit on either side of that line, and the percentage of juice, where a package states it, is the number that separates them.
The federal page does not list brand names for Arkansas. That contrasts with Florida, where the Department of Children and Families published brand examples such as Diet Coke on its recipient page. In Arkansas, the shopper works from the category descriptions, and the state’s retailer materials describe what changes on the shelf.
What the state told retailers
The Arkansas Department of Human Services keeps a retailer resources page for the nutrition waiver. It says items were changing effective July 1, 2026, and that the waiver excludes soda, low and no-calorie soda, and fruit and vegetable drinks with less than 50% juice. The page rendered only partially when read for this article, so the full retailer guidance is not summarized here…