With the government shutdown ended and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program assured through September 2026, millions of Americans are about to start getting regular food aid again.<\/p>\n
But the strain on the nation\u2019s largest anti-hunger program isn\u2019t going to let up entirely, and more of the burden is about to shift to the states.<\/p>\n
The reconciliation package \u2014 the sweeping bill passed by Republicanslast summer \u2014 has set in motion some of the most significant changes to SNAP in decades. The law\u00a0expands work requirements<\/a>, restricts eligibility for\u00a0certain immigrant groups<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0forces states to shoulder most<\/a>\u00a0of the program\u2019s administrative costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe changes and cuts to SNAP, approved by the Republican Congress and signed by President Trump, will undermine the program\u2019s foundation and significantly increase state and local costs. They will also reduce benefits to SNAP households, making it even more difficult for New Yorkers to purchase essential food at a time when food prices are up, and household budgets are already stretched thin,\u201d Nicolette Simmonds, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, told NOTUS in a statement.<\/p>\n States are already taking steps to try to prepare for this. In Massachusetts, for example, Gov. Maura Healey created a statewide\u00a0Anti-Hunger Task Force<\/a>\u00a0in direct response to the changes. The thinking is that it will help offset the effect of the federal cuts with state resources and coordination among food assistance organizations.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are changes that will cause some people to lose all their benefits, and some people to lose some of their benefits. There\u2019s changes that are going to place additional burden on the state, where they\u2019re going to have to cover additional administrative costs and potentially partial costs of the benefits that are provided, which is the first time that\u2019s ever been required,\u201d Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, told NOTUS.<\/p>\n And some of those changes are starting to take effect.<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which did not respond to a request for comment, said it was unable to do much operationally on SNAP during the shutdown, even pushing back on using contingency funds to keep the program afloat. Still, in that period the department directed agencies to start enforcing one of its new rules to comply with the reconciliation package.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing the OBBB, some alien groups previously eligible for SNAP are no longer eligible,\u201d the USDA said in\u00a0a memo<\/a>\u00a0issued on Oct. 31, directing state agencies to immediately begin implementing new eligibility requirements aimed at excluding people with certain legal immigration statuses.<\/p>\n The Congressional Budget Office\u00a0estimates<\/a>\u00a0that at least 90,000 people would become ineligible for SNAP benefits monthly due to this new requirement.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not the only change that will take a toll on eligibility.<\/p>\n Under the reconciliation package, work requirements\u00a0have been expanded<\/a>\u00a0to apply to all able-bodied adults without dependents.<\/p>\n Most adults under the age of 64 will now be required to submit documentation proving they are working, volunteering, or in a training program for at least 80 hours per month. These expanded SNAP work requirements will now also apply to veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness and former foster youth.<\/p>\n Rep. Yvette Clarke, a Democrat from New York, called the changes \u201chorrendous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea is, oh, they\u2019re late with your application, or your application was incomplete \u2014 and people will go without the support they need to feed their families,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a real financial burden to every state, every municipality.\u201d<\/p>\n The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities\u00a0estimates<\/a>\u00a0that 5 to 6 million people are at risk of losing \u201csome amount of SNAP\u201d benefits because of the expansion of work requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re betting on people not filling out the paperwork right,\u201d Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez of New Mexico, the state with the highest reliance on the SNAP program in the country, told NOTUS. \u201cThey\u2019re kicking people off because they missed a deadline, because they checked the wrong box. Let\u2019s make sure we give people the help so that they comply with the requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n New Mexico state officials told NOTUS that about 55,750 New Mexicans will become subject to the new rules, and roughly 20,000 may lose food benefits entirely by April 2026 if they fail to meet the new federal criteria.<\/p>\n New Mexico asked the USDA for a federal waiver to temporarily suspend requiring able-bodied individuals to provide proof of employment in areas with high unemployment. The waiver was granted, but it expires at the end of the year.<\/p>\n The fight over SNAP funding that played out during the shutdown is raising concern about how this will play out.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m concerned in general that this administration, over the last two and a half months, has shown during the shutdown that they\u2019re willing to do things that are not only confusing and make it difficult to administer the program, but unlawful, including withholding funding,\u201d Rep. Melanie Stansbury told NOTUS. \u201cI don\u2019t have any confidence in this administration and their execution on the program, and we\u2019re going to be watching it closely.\u201d<\/p>\n The USDA directed states to begin implementing the expanded work requirements at the start of November, even though it\u2019s unclear how state agencies will do that.<\/p>\n