A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday blocked the Trump administration from preventing food stamp recipients in five states from using their benefits to buy sugary foods and drinks. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the U.S. Department ‌of Agriculture lacked the authority under federal law to approve state requests to bar recipients ​of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, from using benefits to buy sugary foods and drinks.

She sided with five plaintiffs who argued the restrictions would undermine their ⁠access to food. The USDA has approved “food restriction” waivers in 23 states allowing them to restrict SNAP participants ​from using their benefits to buy products such as soda and candy. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health ⁠and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have endorsed the waivers as part of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement. SNAP, commonly known as the food stamp program, provides monthly benefits to 42 million low-income Americans, and is administered by the USDA in partnership with state ‌governments.

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