Grocers and SNAP recipients face perplexing set of rules restricting 'junk food' purchases

In Idaho, candy is banned, unless it contains flour or requires 
refrigeration. (Photo by Denny Mueller, Unsplash)

States that no longer allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program money to pay for "junk food" have left retailers and SNAP recipients confused about which foods are allowed for purchase with SNAP dollars, reports Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post. The new rules may disproportionately impact rural residents, who are more likely to participate in SNAP than their urban counterparts.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his supporters have led the charge to keep highly processed foods off of American tables, beginning with the SNAP program. Roubein explains, "They argue federal dollars shouldn’t help people buy products increasingly linked to poor health and obesity. Trump administration officials have pushed states to bar the use of food stamps for soda and candy."

In response, 10 states received federal waivers to restrict SNAP food choices and rolled out their own unique set of restrictions. "In Iowa, anti-hunger advocates recently sought to highlight how some cold sandwiches and granola bars may not qualify," Roubein reports. "In Idaho, legislators had attempted to clarify the state’s candy ban, since it allows KitKats and Twix because they contain flour."

The fact that each state has its own rules "has led to a complicated and at times counterintuitive maze of new restrictions, according to more than two dozen interviews with trade groups for independent grocers and convenience stores, store owners, anti-hunger advocates, SNAP participants and others," the Post reports.

Fearing the loss of their SNAP licenses, some grocers have banned additional products from SNAP purchases to ensure compliance, Roubein explains. But that change has left SNAP-spending customers not just trying to figure out what their state allows, but also what the store they are shopping in allows.

While most anti-hunger activists oppose the restrictions as further marginalizing and punishing people for "being poor, nutritionists and nutrition advocates have mixed opinions," the Post reports. "Others say they have long sought to test SNAP changes, and want to see data showing whether the new rules impact consumer behavior and improve health." States with restriction waivers have two years to pilot their programs.

Quick hits: Using a pay phone; hated Halloween candy; oral health is part of overall health; dude ranches for all

Finding and using a pay phone is a modern curiosity.
(Photo by Darin Epperly, Flatwater Free Press)

Smartphones may be the way of today, but pay phones still exist, and a call can cost a mere quarter. "Lane Handke called his wife to tell her he was bringing home the shelves they needed to finish their cabinet. The call cost him 25 cents," reports of Kevin Warneke of Flatwater Free Press. "Then, he phoned a friend just to say hello. . . . Handke made his calls from a pay telephone standing outside the Pierce Telephone Co. building. He felt drawn to this pay phone by curiosity. Pulled toward it by nostalgia." He told Warneke, “I hadn’t used a pay phone in decades. People were looking and wondering what I was doing. I thought it was kind of cool.”

While wind, solar, nuclear and fossil fuels are all part of the U.S. energy grid, geothermal power may be the next source to enter the mix. "The promise of new engineering techniques for geothermal energy – heat from the Earth itself – has attracted rising levels of investment to this reliable, low-emission power source that can provide continuous electricity almost anywhere on the planet," writes geophysicist Moones Alamooti for The Conversation. "That includes ways to harness geothermal energy from idle or abandoned oil and gas wells. . . . In the first quarter of 2025, North American geothermal installations attracted $1.7 billion in public funding – compared with $2 billion for all of 2024."

Do you know which Halloween candies are the most
disliked? (Adobe Stock photo)

As Halloween gets closer, adults and kids out shopping are met with store shelves packed with chewy eyeballs, glow-in-the-dark worms, bat-shaped candy bars, corn that's not real corn, and festive fall packaging. But some people find the  sweet, sticky world of Oct. 31 candy disgusting -- so much so, there's a list of the 10 most despised Halloween candies. Guesses go here.

Oral health and overall health are closely linked, and some "practitioners think dentistry should no longer be siloed," reports Lola Butcher for Knowable magazine. "Dentistry and medicine have operated as parallel fields: Dentists take care of the mouth, physicians the rest of the body. That is starting to change. . . . Dental hygienists have started working in medical clinics; physicians and dentists have started a professional association to promote working together; and a new kind of clinic — with dentists and doctors under one roof — is emerging. . . . The list of connections between oral health and systemic health — conditions that affect the entire body — is remarkable."

Triangle X Ranch, inside Grand Teton National Park, has been in the Turner family for nearly a century. 
(Triangle X Ranch photo via The New York Times)

Saddle up or relax at one of these six dude ranches. "All-inclusive guest ranches let you connect with nature, as well as your inner cowpoke, on the trail, around the campfire and under the starry skies," reports Ruffin Prevost for The New York Times. Whether honing horse skills, seeking majestic views, or simply wanting to leave technology and stress behind by heading out to the American West, Prevost's list offers suggestions and resources for a rural getaway.

Here a seed, there a seed, everywhere a company selling or consolidating to sell seeds. "Keeping track of [seed] brands — especially corn and soybeans — can be daunting," reports of Chris Torres of Farm Progress. "Knowing who owns what can provide crucial insights into what companies are behind the brands you buy, how they source and develop genetics, and what sorts of technology may be available to you." A compact seed chart and a listing of university variety seed trials are found here.

Each piano was tuned slightly differently to produce 11,000 Strings.
(Photo by Stephanie Berg via the Smithsonian)

When 100 pianos at the Hailun piano factory in China were all played together to test their performance before being shipped out, conductor Peter Paul Kainrath was there to experience the "massive sound," reports Ella Feldman for Smithsonian magazine. "The cacophonic scene left Kainrath so inspired that he called Austrian composer Georg Friedrich Haas to discuss its potential. . . .The next morning, Haas told Kainrath that if he brought him 50 pianos, he would compose a piece. The resulting composition is Haas’ 11,000 Strings."