SNAP Food Stamp Cuts: Millions of Americans who rely on SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, may face lower benefits or lose aid completely because of changes in the new Republican spending law.
Experts say around 2.4 million people, about 6% of participants, could be cut off every month. Even more families, up to 22.3 million households, might get less money than before. These benefits help people buy food and eat healthier, so any reduction worries recipients.
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SNAP Food Stamp Cuts: New Changes
- Adults up to 64 years old must work, train, or volunteer for 20 hours a week to get food aid. previously only those aged 18 to 54 needed to meet this requirement.
- People like veterans, former foster youth, and homeless adults who were previously exempt now have to follow the rules too.
- Those who don’t meet the work requirements can only get food stamps for three months in a three-year period.
Gina Plata-Nino from Food Research & Action Center explained, “Just off the bat, those are veterans, youths aging out of foster care — think about what it means to be unhoused, trying to get a job when you don’t have a place to shower. Again, these populations are going to be worse off.”
How Benefits are Calculated?
The new law also changes how benefits are calculated. Previously, households could deduct utility costs like internet when figuring out how much food aid they should get.
Carolyn Vega from Share Our Strength said, “Roughly 65% of participating households will see their benefit drop by an average of $10 a month.” She added, “It’s a relatively small amount but for a household facing rising grocery cost and facing tough decisions, $10 can make a difference” reported CBS News. This change, combined with stricter work rules, could leave many struggling to buy enough food.
States now have more responsibilities too. By fiscal year 2027, they must pay 75% of SNAP administrative costs, up from 50%. States with higher error rates in payments will also need to spend more starting in 2028. Vega said, “It’s uncharted territory. We do worry some states might decide they can’t take that level of liability and won’t participate in SNAP.”
Growing Concerns Over Food Insecurity
These cuts come at a tough time when grocery prices are high and poverty is rising, especially among seniors and Black Americans. Anti-hunger groups warn that reducing SNAP benefits could increase hunger and food insecurity. Vega said, “You are looking at households that don’t have a lot of extra wiggle room in their budget, so that makes every SNAP dollar very precious in extending that food budget.”
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Some states, like Pennsylvania, are already starting stricter work rules from November 1. Tracking the impact of these changes may be hard because the USDA recently stopped its annual food security report, which measured whether families had enough healthy food.
Vega criticized this, saying, “I don’t see how it’s redundant — the USDA puts out the only report on food insecurity. It just indicates to me that they don’t want to see the results of the reconciliation bill.”
