Has the USDA changed their policy on soft drinks since 1977? In those days I worked for Lucky Stores in southern CA and you could not buy soft drinks with food stamps.
That did not stop people from buying $100 in food with food stamps and $100 in alcohol and cigarettes with cash.
Oh yes. You can buy any “food” on food stamps except ready to eat hot food. You still cannot buy pet food, alcohol, tobacco, toilet tissue or soap. I am regularly behind users at the store, with conveyor belts full of soda pop, sugary cereals, snacks, and assorted junk foods, along with expensive convenience frozen foods. Very little fresh, nutritious food. The mom and the poor little kids are all obese. In the 70s there was still some stigma attached to good stamps. Now it is to make them feel like they’re just like working people.