South Carolina’s food assistance card will stop paying for candy, energy drinks and soft drinks on November 1. The change reaches about 495,000 people who get SNAP in the state, and it comes through a waiver the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved for a program called Healthy Food SC. Households cannot opt out.
The date is not the first one South Carolina announced. Grocery shoppers who heard “August 31” over the summer are now looking at a start nine weeks later.
A governor’s request becomes a two-year project
Gov. Henry McMaster announced plans for the waiver in August 2025 and directed the state Department of Social Services to file the request. WRHI reports that USDA approved the program in December 2025. Local television coverage describes Healthy Food SC as a two-year project…