INCENTIVES MATTER: How Trump’s MAHA movement unexpectedly took a bite out of food price inflation.

Any diet conversation in the Trump administration held over the last year inevitably included a conversation about removing processed and sugary foods from federal welfare programs like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children).

Since then, the USDA has approved state-level waivers allowing individual states to restrict or ban SNAP purchases of specific “junk food” items—primarily soda, candy, energy drinks, sugary snacks, and certain prepared desserts—starting in batches throughout 2025 and taking effect mostly on January 1 of this year, or shortly thereafter.

Thus far, 18 states (including Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia, Colorado, and others) have implemented these targeted restrictions, aiming to curb chronic disease by shifting subsidies away from ultra-processed items toward healthier foods, though broader processed foods remain eligible in states without waivers.

Well, good.