Federal Judge blocks upcoming SNAP restrictions in TN

Tennessee’s new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) restrictions were set to go into place in about a month, but a federal judge has blocked bans on the usage of SNAP for soda. Earlier this week U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote that the U.S. Department of Agriculture exceeded its authority in approving the bans, and said that “Congress defined what ‘food’ is supposed to be, and it did not authorize the agency to amend or waive the definition it enacted.” She added that the bans also violated procedure by failing to abide by the USDA’s notice requirements. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by five SNAP recipients from Tennessee, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Colorado. Tennessee’s ban was set to be implemented on July 31.
The ruling vacates approval of the requests and remands the bans to a lower court.