A federal judge on Monday blocked state-level pilot programs that restrict the use of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program money to purchase unhealthy foods. 

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, wrote that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins improperly applied federal law when she approved requests from states asking to impose limits on what participants can purchase with funds from the program, Politico reported. 

Jackson wrote that Rollins didn't just waive an administrative or technical obstacle, but her approval of state requests redefines "food" as written in the law Congress had passed. 

The ruling applies to Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia.