The U.S. Department of Agriculture is approving a growing number of state waivers to restrict what foods can be purchased through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has approved waiver requests from Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and Utah. All the waivers ban SNAP funds from being used to purchase soft drinks, and some disallow candy as well.

SNAP benefits can be used to purchase almost all food items. They cannot be used to purchase alcohol, non-food items and (with minor exceptions) restaurant food. USDA studies have shown that SNAP participants’ food purchases are quite similar to those of the general public, and often include sodas, candy and other snacks.

Those who support restricting sodas and other “junk food” argue that federal assistance should steer people toward healthier choices, and taxpayer funds should not be used to subsidize the consumption of beverages like sodas that have minimal nutritional value and have been associated with obesity and chronic diseases.

Opponents of restrictions argue that it is paternalistic to tell SNAP participants which foods to buy. Groups representing food companies and grocery stores have asserted that restrictions will be difficult to implement at the checkout counter, and that restrictions stigmatize snacks as “bad food.” In addition, opponents have made “slippery-slope” arguments that the number of banned foods will increase over time. The waivers should provide a laboratory to measure whether the grocers’ claims of technical problems are borne out. In addition, the waivers may answer the question of whether soda consumption actually falls in those states, or if SNAP participants simply purchase sodas with their own funds.