Texas Bans Candy, Sweetened Drinks for SNAP Users

0:00It's April 1st. I'm Cory with the story, and this is El Paso News, today local news powered by AI. Starting this week, snap users in Texas can't buy candy or sweeten drinks with their lone star cards at the grocery store. The band kicked in Wednesday morning after Senate Bill 379 made it law back in June. It's all about pushing folks toward healthier picks when they shop. Some drinks still make the cut, like those with milk, more than 50% fruit or veggie juice. Those sweeteners under 5 grams of added. Sugar or medical stuff like pitiolite. Retailers handle the checks at checkout, so if something's off limits, shoppers just pay cash for it. No fines for them. Nutrition pros say it's way too soon to see real health boosts, since added sugars just one piece of bigger problems like chronic diseases. Elizabeth Klingbale from UT Austin points out other factors aren't fixed yet. Texas Health and Human Services is watching shopping habits close to spot any shifts. Meanwhile, feeding Texas Warren's smaller stores and rural spots might ditch the program,

1:02cutting food access where it's already tough. We'll keep eyes on how this rolls out, especially if stores bail and habits change for good.