---
title: Taxpayer-Funded Junk Food - June 24, 2026
description: Judge blocks SNAP junk‑food limits, leaving taxpayers stuck funding soda and chips while reform bills stall in Congress.
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![Junk Food in SNAP Programs](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/images/daily_update/2026/june/june24/june242026-article.png)

Should people dependent on government assistance be allowed to buy junk food with your tax dollars?

This is the Wilmington Standard Daily Update for Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

[U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-appointed-judge-torpedoes-trumps-bid-fight-obesity-white-house-warns-wont-final-say) ruled on Monday that the United States Department of Agriculture can no longer grant waivers to states who want to limit the use of public funds to the purchase of healthy food. Stating that Congress has already defined what “food” is, Judge Jackson ruled the agency does not have the authority to restrict those funds in any way.

In response, the Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins [wrote on X](https://x.com/SecRollins/status/2069443404400922642):

[SNAP](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/opinons/ideology-meets-reality) is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families.

> An activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk.
> 
> SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families.
> 
> Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at…
> 
> 
> 
> — Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) [June 23, 2026](https://x.com/SecRollins/status/2069443404400922642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

She is right on all accounts. What that means is right now, right here in Wilmington North Carolina a person receiving SNAP funds – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – can go out and buy cans of soda, bags of potato chips, and yards of licorice at your expense – and there isn’t anything you can do about it.

In 2017 North Carolina did apply for a waiver to restrict the use of SNAP benefits. Under the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, those waivers seemed likely to be granted.

One activist judge appointed by President Barak Obama blocked it.

It is now back to the drawing board for North Carolina and other states who realize that while tax payers may feel the need to foot the bill to help their fellow citizens find food, asking them to cover the cost of Coca Cola – which does not meet the definition of nutritional supplement in any way – is probably a bridge too far.

There are [multiple bills](https://brecheen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1372) in front of both houses of Congress to address this clear misuse of SNAP benefits. None of them have any support from [Democrats](https://thewilmingtonstandard.com/podcast/the-daily-update/daily-update-november-4-2025), and all are stuck in committee. Which is insanity itself – as healthy food is the basis of healthy living – which reduces healthcare and other costs.

And if someone is receiving SNAP – most likely we have to pay for their medical bills as well.

For the Wilmington Standard, I’m Reuel Sample. Thanks for listening.