Happy Tuesday, and welcome to Food Fix. My six-year-old is officially out of school now, and he wants to know why adults still work during the summer. It’s a fair question, Hank!
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Helena
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Today, in Food Fix:
– Judge rules USDA exceeded authority on SNAP waivers
– Nara Organics used same whole milk supplier as ByHeart
– Senate farm bill not expected to delay SNAP costs for states
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Federal court halts SNAP restriction pilots in five states
A federal judge on Monday struck down the Agriculture Department’s approval of SNAP restriction waivers across five states – Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia – concluding that the policy exceeded USDA’s legal authority.
This is a major loss for one of the Trump administration’s signature policy achievements under the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. USDA has so far approved waivers allowing nearly half of states to restrict sugary drinks and other less nutritious foods from being purchased with SNAP benefits.
The details: Of the five states targeted as part of this lawsuit, only Nebraska, Iowa and West Virginia had already implemented restrictions. Colorado’s waiver was approved by the feds, but it has been put on ice at the state level amid local pushback. Tennessee’s waiver had also been approved and was supposed to take effect at the end of July.
Refresher: This lawsuit was filed back in March on behalf of SNAP participants. The lawyers are from the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), an advocacy group focused on equity, and Shinder Cantor Lerner, an anti-trust law firm. I asked a spokesperson for the plaintiffs if there is any food industry funding or involvement in this case, and they said there is not.
Katharine Deabler-Meadows, a senior attorney at NCLEJ, called the ruling “a major step in restoring essential food assistance to the millions of families that rely on SNAP nationwide.”
“This decision makes clear that the USDA cannot bypass the legal guardrails that establish how SNAP must operate across the country,” Deabler-Meadows said. “It affirms that families deserve a program that works without confusion.”
Slapped down: The ruling from U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, does not consider whether pilots are a good idea or not, only whether USDA followed federal law and procedural rules.
“The federal defendants and the states may have a genuine desire to improve the health of SNAP households by encouraging healthy choices at the store, and they can take lawful steps to meet those goals,” Berman Jackson wrote. “But what they cannot do is violate the law and their own regulations along the way.”
More delay: While we’re here, I saw that the Missouri Independent reported Monday that Missouri is postponing its planned SNAP restrictions to Feb. 15, 2027, “after grocers warned they needed clearer guidance to enforce the new restrictions at the checkout.” The state had originally sought to implement restrictions by Oct. 1, 2026.
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Nara Organics used same whole milk supplier as ByHeart
Nara Organics, the formula company that recently recalled its entire production history after three infant botulism cases were linked to its products, used the same whole milk powder supplier as ByHeart – the formula company linked to dozens of infant botulism hospitalizations last year – according to industry sources.
Nara Organics products are made in Germany, but the company began using whole milk from Organic West and Dairy Farmers of America when it first started producing formula as it searched for an EU-based supplier. During that time, Organic West supplied the fluid milk, and DFA’s plant in Fallon, Nev., turned the milk into powder, Nara Organics confirmed to Food Fix.
These two dairy companies are the same suppliers that were identified in the ByHeart outbreak investigation. The suppliers were first identified in January 2026 by JoNel Aleccia at the Associated Press and were later confirmed by FDA.
“From October 2024 to April 2025, Nara sourced organic whole milk powder from a large, U.S. organic whole milk supplier for infant formula ingredients, Organic West, that was dried by DFA at a facility in Fallon, Nevada used by many formula companies,” the company said in a statement Monday. “When Nara learned from media reports earlier this year that ByHeart also used these suppliers, we immediately began a rigorous review to determine the safety of Nara’s existing formula. The review determined that Nara formula met and exceeded all the microbiological and other contaminant safety requirements of the FDA. It also met all US and EU food safety standards.”
(To clarify here: Nara Organics had already switched to an EU Organic dairy supplier by the time this news about the suppliers broke, but some of the formula that was made with the Organic West/DFA-processed milk powder was still on the market.)
Nara Organics said in a statement it has always followed “the strictest testing protocols recommended by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications on Food for the screening of c.botulism using sulphite reducing clostridia (SRC) with specifications even stricter than those recommended by ICMSF. Each batch of Nara infant formula is tested 3 times for SRC – once on the powdered milk ingredients, once on the formula powder before canning, and once on the finished canned formula.”
“We are heartbroken by the infant botulism cases and remain committed to working with the FDA, CDC and state health authorities to identify the root cause,” the company added.
DFA weighs in: I asked Dairy Farmers of America about this news. “DFA does not supply whole milk powder directly to Nara Organics (Nara) or any other infant formula manufacturers,” the company said in a statement to Food Fix. “A Nara supplier utilized DFA’s Fallon, Nev., facility to process a portion of its organic milk supply into a powder ingredient. We understand that Nara purchased this ingredient from the organic supplier and combined it with ingredients from other suppliers, further processing it in its manufacturing plant into a finished infant formula product.”
“The Fallon plant does not produce infant formula or perform the additional processing required for such products,” the company said. “All whole milk powder processed at the Fallon facility met all applicable food safety and quality standards, as well as all legal and contractual obligations.”
Zooming out: The revelation that Nara Organics and ByHeart shared the same supplier raises new questions about FDA and the industry’s handling of the botulism outbreak last year. The agency in June said it is still investigating the root cause of last year’s outbreak, and it still has not released the results of its inspection of the DFA plant in Fallon.
HHS did not respond to a request for comment. Organic West couldn’t be reached for comment.
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Senate farm bill not expected to delay SNAP costs for states
The farm bill backed by Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans, which is expected to be released today, reportedly will allow billions of dollars in food aid costs to be shifted to states without a delay, rejecting Democrats’ top request for the sweeping legislation.
As Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported: “Democrats say they will oppose a farm bill that doesn’t push back a requirement that will soon force some states to pay for some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a provision included in the domestic policy megalaw Republicans passed last year.”
“Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) gave Senate staff and industry stakeholders a private preview of his farm bill text Monday afternoon ahead of a planned public release of the discussion draft at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the people familiar, who were all granted anonymity to discuss the not-yet-public plans. Boozman will need some Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.”
Cost-share concerns: Critics of the move to pass billions in SNAP costs onto the states, including anti-hunger advocates, say it will strain state budgets, force a reduction in access to SNAP and could even lead some states to stop participating in the program.
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What I’m reading
White House puts RFK Jr. on road ahead of crucial midterms (The Hill). “The White House has put Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the road ahead of November’s midterm elections. Kennedy has been showing up in key battleground House districts in recent weeks, touting his MAHA agenda to improve the nation’s food and promoting similar administration initiatives. It’s a sign that far from being sidelined, the White House views Kennedy as an important asset in trying to help Republicans keep control of government,” write Nathaniel Weixel and Caroline Vakil. “Kennedy has crisscrossed the country this year, traveling between swing districts in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and Michigan, to name a few. The appearances are largely part of Kennedy’s ‘Take Back Your Health’ tour, where he has encouraged outdoor recreation, sang the praises of drinking whole milk, touted the administration’s initiatives toward keeping infant formula safe and spoken about ongoing efforts toward tackling addiction.”
Perspective: This political shift in Iowa should have farmers worried (AG Daily). “If the last 10 years of politics has taught us anything, it’s that the old rules of politics no longer apply,” writes Amanda Zaluckyj. “Despite this, when the Iowa GOP chose its gubernatorial candidate for the 2026 election, it was a complete shock to me. His name is Zach Lahn. … Here’s what made me take notice: Lahn is an extreme MAHA acolyte that just won the GOP primary in one of America’s biggest agriculture states. Lahn’s platform is classic MAHA – buzzwords, fear, and a profound distrust of the scientific institutions and technologies that have made modern agriculture possible. … What worries me is that these ideas are no longer confined to the fringes. They are winning primaries. They’re finding audiences. And they’re increasingly being packaged as ‘pro-farmer’ despite promoting a worldview that treats modern agriculture with suspicion and distrust.”
Cultivated meat deep dive: After the crash, who’s still standing? (Ag Funder News). “It’s fair to say that cultivated meat is now well past its honeymoon period after a string of high-profile failures. But is there light at the end of the tunnel, or is one of agrifoodtech’s biggest moonshots destined for the dustbin of history before it’s even out of the starting blocks?” Elaine Watson writes. “Two of the sector’s best-funded players – Believer Meats and Meatable – abruptly ceased operations in December, while GOOD Meat, the first company to commercialize cultivated meat, has not yet landed on a model for profitable production at large scale and became embroiled in a legal dispute with a key vendor over allegedly unpaid bills. The top-funded player – UPSIDE Foods – has paused plans to build a large-scale facility in Illinois, but recently put in a $50 million bid for Believer Meat’s production facility in North Carolina. That said, from a purely technical perspective, significant progress has been made in recent years, claimed Lever VC in a recent white paper, although the firm acknowledged that it will be ‘many years if not decades before we’ll have a sense of how the sector as a whole will ultimately fare.’”
Cities are dismantling their food policy councils as need increases (Civil Eats). “Food policy councils, or FPCs, are roundtables found in hundreds of cities and regions across the country, bringing together public agencies, local advocates, and the people who grow, sell, serve, and distribute food,” writes Naoki Nitta. “They occupy a hybrid space, connected to, though not always housed inside, government. The councils are close enough to influence agencies and elected officials but broad enough to knit together many different elements of the local food system, from food access, agriculture, and small business to public health, procurement, and disaster relief. D.C. was a national leader in bringing that model into city hall. A 2014 law, implemented as Mayor Muriel Bowser took office, made the district the first municipality to establish a government-based FPC, along with a food policy director and an Office of Food Policy within D.C.’s Office of Planning. … Twelve years later, Bowser has moved to dismantle the D.C. FPC, looking for ways to trim the district’s budget. … While drastic, D.C. isn’t unique.”
Great American State Fair menu: Classic American fare merges with MAHA (Washington Examiner). “The Great American State Fair’s menu was released this week, giving the public a taste of what Freedom 250’s 16-day festival on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall holds for them,” Emily Hallas reports. “The event lineup is set to feature an array of local restaurants, a food challenge brought by sandwich shop Bub and Pop’s, and a sprinkle of MAHA’s crusty outlook, with ‘MAHA Mondays’ planned for June 29 and July 7. … Programming on the ‘food-as-medicine’ movement will highlight Judy’s Pancakes, a beverage demo by influencer ‘Holistic Hilda,’ Polyface Farm’s Joel Salatin, [RFK Jr.] aide Calley Means, and Steak ‘n Shake’s ‘chief MAHA officer,’ according to Axios. … The free ‘World-fair’ styled event, which seeks to celebrate 250 years of American independence, is launching on Thursday and will take place through July 10.”
Beef tallow takeover? Big food companies begin to embrace MAHA ingredient (Food Dive). “Beef tallow. It’s what’s for snacking. Potato chips and other food products made with the [MAHA] approved ingredient are surging in popularity as some consumers move away from plant-based seed oils and others embrace nostalgia,” writes Christopher Doering. “Beef tallow is now entering the mainstream as major companies such as Utz and Conagra incorporate the rendered animal fat into a handful of their products. … Sales of food products with beef tallow as an ingredient surged to $1.1 billion for the 52 weeks ended March 22, up 275% from the same period three years ago, according to data firm Spins provided to Food Dive. … The ingredient was thrust into the spotlight again in January when the FDA updated the national dietary guidelines to highlight beef tallow, along with butter and olive oil, as healthy fats consumers should incorporate into the foods they eat.”
Cottage cheese is in, chips are out — and Ozempic is just one reason (Washington Post). “Americans are eating fewer potato chips, toaster pastries and cookies and more cottage cheese and yogurt, as millions have flocked to GLP-1 drugs and embraced healthier habits in a seismic shift in eating patterns that is even influencing prices,” write Lauren Kaori Gurley and Federica Cocco. “Demand for food high in protein and fiber is soaring, according to big food companies and firms that track food industry purchases and some federal data. Plus, consumption of ultra-processed sugary and salty snacks has fallen. … Over the past six years, food prices have generally surged because of supply-side forces, from extreme weather events that have destroyed crops to supply chain shocks and labor shortages during the pandemic. More recently, the rising cost of gasoline related to the war in Iran has pushed up most grocery prices. Amid those forces, the GLP-1 craze has started to usher in one of the biggest shifts in American food consumption in decades, rivaling the low-fat craze of the 1990s, food economists say.”
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Who’s who
Christian Lovell has joined Invariant as a senior manager with the food and agriculture practice group. Lovell was most recently working on his family’s farm in Illinois and with the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition. He previously worked for Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).
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