To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to prohibit the purchase of nutritionally deficient foods with supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.

Sponsor: Anna Paulina Luna (Republican-FL)February 13, 2026

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Introduced

In Committee

Passed One Chamber

Passed Both Chambers

Signed into Law

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

SNAP users would no longer be able to buy certain sugary drinks and snacks with their benefits.

This bill, called the "Nutrition First Act of 2026," would change the rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It would stop people from using their SNAP benefits to buy certain sugary drinks, candies, and prepared snacks. This means SNAP participants would have fewer choices at the grocery store, and stores would need to update their systems.

What Would Change

Today, people using SNAP benefits can buy most "food or food product" for home use, including many sugary drinks and snacks. If this bill becomes law, SNAP benefits would only cover "eligible food" that meets new nutritional standards set by the Secretary of Agriculture. This would specifically ban items like most sodas, candies, certain prepared desserts, and energy drinks.

Key Provisions

Bans the use of SNAP benefits for most sugar-sweetened drinks, including soda and other non-alcoholic beverages with caloric sweeteners.
Stops SNAP benefits from being used for most candies, except for items containing flour or requiring refrigeration.
Prevents SNAP benefits from buying high-sugar beverages where carbonated water and a caloric sweetener are the first two ingredients.
Forbids the use of SNAP benefits for prepared desserts or snack foods with high levels of added sugar, sodium, or saturated fat.
Excludes energy drinks or other beverages containing an added sweetener and marketed as an "energy drink" from SNAP purchases.
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to set new nutritional standards for what counts as "eligible food" for SNAP purchases.

View on Congress.gov

HR 7580 · 119th Congress · February 13, 2026 · AI Summary by gemini-2.5-flash · 8/10

To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to prohibit the purchase of nutritionally deficient foods with supplemental nutrition assistance program benefits.

What Would Change

Key Provisions

Lobbying Activity