PIERRE, (KCCR) — The South Dakota Department of Social Services has formally submitted a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP Food Restriction Demonstration Waiver to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Administration. The submission of the wavier comes about as of House Bill 1056, passed during this year’s Legislative session. The bill required submission of the waiver to remove soft drinks from eligible SNAP purchases. Soft drinks, by definition, are nonalcoholic beverages containing natural or artificial sweeteners. The waiver is intended to cut back on the number of high-sugar beverages being purchased by SNAP participants. The waiver will apply statewide and impact approximately 72-thousand people in approximately 36-thousand 500 households. All SNAP-authorized retailers in South Dakota will take part in the waiver. The soft drink exclusion will not be in effect until six months after U-S-D-A has approved the state’s waiver request.
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