The list of food items you can buy with SNAP in Florida is shrinking.
Starting on April 20, "soda, energy drinks, candy, and ultra-processed shelf-stable prepared desserts will no longer be available for purchase with SNAP benefits in Florida," according to the state agency administering the program.
Exclusions on SNAP purchases for items like alcohol and tobacco have already been in place.
Florida is the latest state, following Texas, to implement the nutrition-based restrictions.
The changes are designed to promote "access to healthy food and drink options," and "healthier outcomes for Florida families," according to a waiver sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Speaking during "Florida Matters Live & Local" this week, Feeding Tampa Bay External Affairs Officer Lorena Hardwick said this will be the new normal for families relying on SNAP in the region.
"Everyone deserves a Coke and a donut...But it's one of those where...since it's a federal program, the federal government is saying we're not going to provide funding or subsidize for what we deem is an unhealthy food," Hardwick said.
READ MORE: Changes are coming to Florida's primary food insecurity program
Critics of the SNAP purchase restrictions say that while promoting access to nutritious food is a worthy cause, policing beneficiaries' grocery carts is not the solution.
"It blames participants for something that's not within their control, which is having adequate benefits to be able to buy healthy food for every meal, and that needs to be a benefit increase, not looking at ways to make it harder for people to shop," senior analyst at the Florida Policy Institute, Cindy Huddleston, said.
She said that the reality for many Floridians is that non-perishable foods with a higher caloric value are the most affordable way to feed their families.
Even so, research published by the National Library of Medicine found there is not a significant difference in the shopping patterns of SNAP and non-SNAP households. However, the data does show that the leading factors in determining a household's access to nutritious food were public transportation and proximity to a supermarket.
Gabriella Paul covers the stories of people living paycheck to paycheck in the greater Tampa Bay region for WUSF. Here's how you can share your story with her.
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