Grocery store owners in Las Vegas are facing an unprecedented shift in federal food assistance rules that could reshape their businesses in ways they never anticipated. For decades, stores across Nevada accepted SNAP benefits without worrying much about which specific products customers picked off shelves. Those days are ending fast.
The story begins not in Nevada, though. Beginning in 2026, states with approved waivers will prohibit SNAP recipients from using electronic benefit transfer cards to buy specific categories of foods deemed unhealthy, with the restrictions impacting roughly 14 million people. What started as a policy debate in distant state capitals is now landing at checkout counters in Vegas neighborhoods. Local retailers are scrambling to figure out what comes next.
The Federal Waiver System Reshaping State Policy
USDA is empowering states with greater flexibility to manage their programs by approving SNAP Food Restriction Waivers that restrict the purchase of non-nutritious items like soda and candy, waivers that are a key step in ensuring that taxpayer dollars provide nutritious options that improve health outcomes within SNAP. The change represents a dramatic departure from how the program operated since its inception.
States including Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia are changing rules about what you can buy with SNAP starting in 2026, and as of December 2025, the USDA has approved waivers issued by 18 states. Each state writes its own rules, creating a patchwork of restrictions that retailers must navigate.
Nevada Prepares Its Own Restrictions for 2028
Nevada hasn’t implemented restrictions yet. That’s the good news for local grocers. The challenging news? Nevada is working on waivers to SNAP benefit rules to dump sugary drinks, energy drinks and candy that’s 100 percent sugar, all part of an effort to get people to eat healthier, but it could take two years to put changes into place…