Stop Indiana’s SNAP Hunger Control: Reverse the Smart SNAP Restrictions

Call to Action: We demand Indiana immediately halt and reverse the SNAP purchase restrictions taking effect January 1, 2026, under the five-year Smart SNAP demonstration project. Bans on soft drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, candy, and similar items are not about health—they are about control.

This Is Survival, Not Junk Food: Low-income households cannot afford full meals. Shelf-stable, frozen, or accessible foods—including candy, cookies, soda, and energy drinks—provide essential calories, hydration, and energy when fresh fruits, vegetables, and natural drinks are unattainable. Removing these items is a direct attack on survival, especially for disabled, neurodiverse, medically fragile, and food-insecure households.

The Experiment: This is a five-year social experiment targeting the poorest residents while the middle class and wealthy face no restrictions. Predictable consequences include:

Increased food insecurity and hunger 

Dehydration, malnutrition, and medical risk

Emergency room visits and household instability

Economic precarity for working families

Children and vulnerable adults bearing the brunt

Who Can Reverse This: State: Governor Mike Braun, Indiana FSSA

Federal: USDA/FNS, Secretary of Agriculture

Congressional: U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Mike Braun (R-IN)

Oversight: U.S. Congress, Federal Courts

Data from Other States: California, New York, and Massachusetts pilots show no nutrition benefit, but higher emergency room visits, stress, and food insecurity for vulnerable households.

Demand: Halt and reverse this five-year demonstration project immediately

Conduct a transparent, data-driven impact analysis

Provide viable, affordable alternatives before any restrictions

Survival is not indulgence. Indiana must stop punishing the poor, children, elderly and disabled to assert control. This social experiment must end.