Effective January 1, 2026, all SNAP retailers must comply with the West Virginia Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Healthy Choices waiver by not allowing soda to be purchased with SNAP benefits. For the purpose of this waiver, soda is defined as any carbonated non-alcoholic beverage that contains water, a sweetening agent (including but not limited to sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners), flavoring, and carbon dioxide gas to create carbonation. This term includes beverages with added caffeine or other ingredients but does not include carbonated water without sweeteners or flavoring. Retailers should complete the attestation form after updating their point of sale systems. The form should be returned to bfasnapretailer@wv.gov. The retailer attestation form can be found here.
SIGNAGE
SNAP retailers may also utilize the soda waiver signage linked below (click to download):
SNAP Healthy Choices Soda Waiver Retailer Flyer Updated Version 1
SNAP Healthy Choices Soda Waiver Retailer Flyer Updated Version 2
The following document was created to provide technical assistance to retailers whenever they have a question about how to tell if a beverage is restricted:
West Virginia Healthy Choices Soda Waiver Criteria for SNAP Retailers
training
Click here to download the WV SNAP Healthy Choices Soda Waiver Training for SNAP Retailers.
Linked below is a YouTube video version of the training:
