Nebraska has become the first state in the nation to restrict low-income recipients of public grocery aid from using SNAP benefits to buy soda and energy drinks. The ban related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program was announced Monday during a daylong visit to the Cornhusker state by U.

Nebraska is the first state to receive a federal waiver to ban the purchase of soda and energy drinks under the food benefit program for low-income Americans long known as food stamps.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins gave a first-ever approval for a state to restrict what’s covered by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program during a visit to Nebraska this week. Other states,