The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has approved a request from the Kansas Department for Children and Families to launch a “demonstration project” that changes what can be bought with SNAP benefits.
Starting February 15, 2027, Kansas will implement a statewide ban on purchasing candy and soft drinks with SNAP benefits. This pilot program will run for two years, through February 15, 2029, unless it is extended.
What is Changing?
Kansas is amending the definition of “eligible food” to exclude candy and soft drinks from SNAP purchases.
Kansas defines candy as items made with sugar, honey, or other sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, or other flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces. However, if the item contains flour or requires refrigeration, it does not count as candy under this rule.
Kansas defines soft drinks as any nonalcoholic beverage that contains natural or artificial sweeteners. Unlike Utah, this ban is not limited to carbonated drinks. That means many sweetened drinks may be banned even if they do not have bubbles.
| Category | ❌ No Longer Eligible (Banned) | ✅ Still Eligible (Allowed) |
|---|---|---|
| Candy | ❌ Candy bars (Snickers, Milky Way, etc.) ❌ Hard candy (Jolly Ranchers, Life Savers) ❌ Gummies (Gummy Bears, Sour Patch Kids) ❌ Chocolate pieces or drops (M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces) ❌ Any other sweetened candy in bars, drops, or pieces that do not contain flour and do not require refrigeration appear to be banned. | ✅ Items with flour (examples: Kit Kat, Twix, cookies, wafers) ✅ Refrigerated sweets |
| Soft Drinks & Sweetened Beverages | ❌ Regular soda (Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Mountain Dew) ❌ Diet soda and zero sugar soda ❌ Sweet tea ❌ Sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade) ❌ Energy drinks ❌ Sweetened fruit drinks | ✅ Unsweetened drinks ✅ Plain sparkling water |
| Juice & Dairy | ❌ Sweetened drinks with less than 50% juice | ✅ Juice with more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice ✅ Milk and milk products ✅ Milk substitutes (soy, almond, rice, etc.) |
| Other Foods | ❌ Kansas is banning candy and soft drinks under this waiver | ✅ Groceries like bread, meat, vegetables, cereal, pasta, etc. are still allowed |
Who is Affected?
Every SNAP shopper in the state of Kansas will be affected by this change. It applies to 100% of Kansas SNAP users.
It is mandatory and there is no way to opt out of the food restrictions themselves. However, participation in any surveys, interviews, dietary recalls, or other evaluation tools is voluntary.
Critical Things You Need to Know
The USDA approval letter reveals several key details that you need to know.
You can still shop with SNAP in other states. The waiver clearly states that out-of-state transactions will not be used as a primary indicator of fraud and will not negatively affect your eligibility. That means you still have the right to use your EBT card outside Kansas.
The state will still monitor the project carefully. Kansas must submit quarterly reports to USDA, including complaints, compliments, administrative costs, and any available retailer transaction data. The state and USDA will use surveys, interviews, and other data to study whether the ban changes shopping habits and health behaviors.
You do not have to participate in surveys or interviews. Kansas plans to collect feedback from households at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months, but participation is optional. You may opt into or out of those evaluation tools.
Retailers will get a 90-day grace period. After the project begins, SNAP-authorized retailers will have 90 days to adjust. After that, FNS will monitor compliance using its usual fraud detection and investigatory practices.
Kansas may extend the program. The initial project runs from February 15, 2027 to February 15, 2029, but Kansas may request up to three one-year extensions, for a total possible project length of five years.
How to Prepare
Kansas’ rules are broader than Utah’s because they cover both candy and soft drinks, and the soft drink definition is based on sweeteners, not carbonation. Here is how to get ready:
- Review your drink purchases carefully. In Kansas, this ban may affect much more than soda. If a drink is nonalcoholic and contains natural or artificial sweeteners, it may be banned unless it qualifies for an exemption like milk or juice over 50%.
- Check juice percentages. If a beverage is more than 50% fruit or vegetable juice, it should still be allowed. If it is only 10% juice, 20% juice, or otherwise mostly sweetened water, it may not qualify.
- Watch for hidden candy exceptions. Kansas’ candy rule is unusual because it excludes items that contain flour or require refrigeration. That means some sweets that people think of as “candy” may still be SNAP-eligible, while other candy items will not be.
- Budget for restricted items. If your household regularly buys candy, soda, sports drinks, sweet tea, or other sweetened beverages, you may need to start planning for a cash gap before the rule begins in 2027.
- Expect a learning curve. Because Kansas’ definitions are technical, some items may confuse shoppers and retailers at first. Checking labels for flour, refrigeration requirements, sweeteners, milk content, and juice percentage will matter more than ever.
Relief Recap
The new rules are scheduled to begin on February 15, 2027, and every SNAP household in Kansas will be affected automatically. You still have the right to shop in other states, and you do not have to participate in surveys or interviews about the program.
