Colorado’s plan to block food-assistance recipients from using that money to buy soft drinks appears to be stumbling as a board that would need to finalize it expressed reservations Friday and public input roundly opposed it. The Colorado Healthy Choice Waiver would limit the types of beverages av ailable for purchase using money from the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting on April 30. Under the state’s proposal, people buying groceries in Colorado couldn’t use SNAP to pay for drinks containing sugar or artificial sweeteners, unless the products contained milk, a milk substitute or at least 50% fruit or vegetable juice. Staff for the Colorado Department of Human Services said chocolate milk, unsweetened seltzers, bottled coffee drinks containing milk, and juices with added sugar or sweeteners as a minor ingredient would remain eligible for SNAP. Sweetened coffee drinks without dairy and fruit drinks that contain little or no juice would be out, as would soda — including diet and sugar-free varieties. The rule would apply only to foods covered by SNAP, so recipients could pay for those beverages separately if they have the money to do so. Ending SNAP funding for soft drinks has been a priority for Gov. Jared Polis for years, and aligns with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and its opposition to added sugars. Before it can take effect, though, the policy must go before the State Board of Human Services for a final vote in March, and members expressed concerns about it at a meeting on Friday. About 600,000 people in Colorado received $120 million in SNAP benefits in 2025, and roughly half were children. H.R. 1, commonly known as the “big beautiful bill,” forces states to take on a larger share of the program’s costs and expands work requirements to people between 55 and 64, and to adults with children who are 14 or older. Restricting spending on soft drinks wouldn’t save the state money, because recipients could use that money for other foods. Small-scale studies have found that people given restricted dollars for food spent less on sweetened beverages than those allowed to buy the full range of products, but their overall diet quality didn’t change much. A simulation projected that the country could avoid 279,000 cases of obesity and $2.75 billion in health care costs by not allowing SNAP to pay for sugary beverages, but real-world evidence is lacking, because states only began to limit purchases in January. Ten states have already made the change, and Arkansas will implement it in July. Colorado had proposed limiting soft drinks as part of a package of changes, including allowing food assistance to pay for ready-to-eat hot foods, such as grocery store rotisserie chickens, Colorado SNAP director Teri Chasten said at the Board of Human Services’ meeting Friday morning. The U.S. Department of Agriculture asked the state to split the request into pieces and hasn’t said when it would give an answer on the hot-food portion, though it approved the sweetened-drink piece, she said. While the USDA has already given its approval for the change, the human services board would have to update the state’s rules to actually implement it. Officials with the Department of Human Services weren’t sure what would happen next if the board declines to move forward, which appears possible. Four of seven board members present Friday expressed discomfort with the proposed change and said it would be more palatable if they knew SNAP recipients would get something, such as the ability to buy hot foods, in exchange. The board has nine members, but can take votes with as few as five. Mychael Dave, the board’s vice chairman, said he is concerned about increasing stigma for SNAP recipients and thinks the limit on soft drinks only makes sense if the USDA makes it a condition for allowing hot-food purchases. “The only reason I’m going to vote for this is to get something in return” for vulnerable communities, he said. People speaking during the public comment period overwhelmingly opposed the change, raising concerns about the stress families would experience from being uncertain which products SNAP would cover, and the possibility that grocery stores would opt out of accepting the benefits if compliance was too difficult. Retailers’ point-of-sale systems don’t automatically update which products SNAP will cover, which would create burdens for small operators and could push them to opt out, further reducing access to healthy food, said Anjali Prasertong, SNAP electronic incentives manager at Nourish Colorado, a nonprofit focused on creating healthier food systems. “Colorado should pursue policies that expand food access,” she said. Officials from the Department of Human Services said they hadn’t heard significant concerns from retailers about the proposed change during listening sessions, and none have given notice that they plan to drop out of SNAP. Adriana Miranda, who told the board her family sometimes has used SNAP to make ends meet, said grocery stores near her don’t have many beverage options without sugar, and that kids need drinks like Gatorade while playing sports. She didn’t specify where in the state she lives. “Children really pay attention, and we have to ask ourselves, are we willing to create this stigma?” she said. “It would be very sad to take our children into grocery stores and tell them they can’t purchase certain items.” Related Articles Five Weeknight Dishes: Chilly? Chili. Food Bank of the Rockies launches culinary training program 3 Super Bowl recipes from esteemed chefs Fresh find: Gluten-free waffles or pancakes from a box Gretchen’s table: Warm winter’s chill with a hot bowl of this tangy and traditional Mexican stew Dr. Michael Pramenko, a family physician in Grand Junction, said he sympathizes with the embarrassment parents would feel if they couldn’t pay for a product their children wanted, but taxpayer money shouldn’t go to subsidize sugar-sweetened beverages because of their link to obesity and diabetes. Multiple studies have found links between sweetened beverages and metabolic health problems, though, of course, proving cause and effect is tricky in nutrition research. In 2023, the Colorado Medical Society voted in favor of restricting SNAP from paying for sweetened beverages, Pramenko said. Soda companies have targeted their advertising at low-income people, and making it easier to buy those products harms the groups that the program is supposed to help, he said. “I don’t see how it’s helpful or equitable to subsidize products that cause chronic disease,” he said. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get health news sent straight to your inbox. ...read more read less