A Year Later: SNAP Update

Since we published our article in August 2025, the changes we warned about have begun rolling out across the country. A year ago, over 42 million Americans were receiving SNAP benefits. Today, it’s closer to 38.5 million. That’s roughly 4 million people who were getting food assistance who now aren’t. For many of them, nothing changed in their lives, but the rules changed around them. What was once theoretical is now hitting families hard.

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Who Lost SNAP Benefits and Why?

Since we published our previous article in August of 2025, the changes we warned about have begun rolling out across the country and may now be impacting you or your neighbors. The situation appears to be worse than we anticipated.

If you’re between the ages of 55 and 64, homeless, a veteran, or a parent with a teenager 14 years of age or older at home, you used to be exempt from work requirements. Now you’re not. For the parents and caregivers out there, this means if your youngest kid just turned 14 and you were previously exempt from work requirements, you now must meet the 80-hour work/training per month requirement, or you will lose your SNAP benefits after 3 months. A year ago, having any minor child under 18 at home kept you exempt.

If you’re struggling to find work, or if you’re dealing with health issues that are debilitating but not severe enough to qualify for a disability exemption, you can easily fall through the cracks with these new changes. 80 hours per month works out to 20 hours a week, which is essentially a part-time job and not extreme under normal circumstances, but it can be a real obstacle for people in more trying situations:

• Americans in their late 50s or 60s who have physical limitations that don’t qualify as a formal disability, but still make regular work painful or difficult.
• Living in areas with very few job opportunities (and don’t get me started on the excruciatingly low minimum wage in most states or the price of gas right now if finding work requires that you commute.)
• Homeless and dealing with practical barriers that come with that. (Finding and keeping a job when you don’t have a permanent address, a reliable phone, or a place to shower before work is significantly harder than most people realize.)
• Veterans managing service-related health or mental health issues that aren’t classified as disabling. (PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain from service—these are real and often debilitating, but they don’t always meet the narrow definition of “disability” that qualifies for exemptions.)

The Burden of Paperwork

The requirement isn’t just “have a job”; you must also document and prove you’re meeting the requirements, which adds the burden of paperwork, having dependable internet access, and the time to complete it on top of everything else.

You must document and prove you’re meeting the requirements. That means:

• Collecting pay stubs or employer verification letters
• Gathering receipts or certificates from training programs
• Submitting paperwork to your state agency
• Having internet access to upload documents or use state portals
• Finding the time to complete all of this while working or searching for work, and caring for dependents, etc.

If you’re juggling a part-time job (or multiple part-time jobs), have transportation challenges, health issues, struggling with childcare, or homelessness, the new work requirements and the paperwork burden add another layer of difficulty on top of everything else when you’re just trying to feed your family.

This shift affects real people in real situations.

The SNAP participation decline is accelerating beyond initial projections. SNAP participation has declined by approximately 3.5 million people over the last year. This includes the vulnerable populations we warned about; the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that expanded work requirements will lead to more than 1 million older adults ages 55 to 64 losing their food assistance.

The law reduced federal funding for SNAP by $187 billion through 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This is the largest cut to food assistance in history.

Beyond work requirements, 18 states requested and received approval to further restrict SNAP-eligible products to address nutrition concerns, with restrictions covering products including soda, desserts, candy, and certain processed foods, applying to roughly 31 percent of SNAP participants. These restrictions limit food choices and create additional complexity for families already struggling.

Let me put it this way: If you live in an area where there is very little available as far as grocery options go, or you don’t have transportation to get to a grocery store, you may end up relying on the closest walkable place to get food for yourself or your family.

If you’ve ever gone into a tiny, rural gas station in the middle of nowhere, you’ll have seen that there are very few “healthy” whole food options there. When you restrict the food that qualifies for SNAP, you might be taking away the highest-calorie choice someone has based on what’s available closest to them. It also suggests that people who rely on SNAP benefits don’t know how to make good choices, which is insulting and fundamentally wrong.

Most people on SNAP are doing the best they can with what they have available—and if this were truly a concern, why would the government cut SNAP Education in their sweeping budget cut?

The food insecurity crisis is worsening, and we are pulling the rug out from underneath our neighbors who need help. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security report, published in December 2025, revealed that nearly 48 million people were in food-insecure households in 2024, even as the number of people receiving SNAP has shrunk.

These former SNAP recipients have not been “lifted” out of poverty; they are still struggling to feed themselves, and they just can’t adjust to the new requirements and lack of help.

What’s with the Farm Bill?

The Farm Bill was supposed to be an opportunity to fix SNAP’s problems. Instead, it became a disappointment.

In the early hours of March 5, 2026, after two days of debate, House Agriculture Committee members voted 34-17 to advance a new farm bill. On April 30, the House passed the 2026 farm bill, the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026” with a 224-200 vote.

Here’s the disappointing reality: the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 fails to reverse the deeply damaging $187 billion in SNAP cuts, as well as other harmful changes that will further weaken the program. Despite months of advocacy and pleas from hunger relief organizations, the House version does nothing to restore SNAP funding or roll back the expanded work requirements.

The House did make one minor change that’s positive: the House passed an amendment (384-35 vote) allowing SNAP recipients to purchase hot rotisserie chickens with their benefits. While any expansion of food choices is welcome, this modest change does not address the core problems created by the massive funding cuts and expanded work requirements.

The Senate has yet to introduce its version of the farm bill, but Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) has indicated he intends to release a draft in the coming weeks. This is where hope remains: the Senate still has an opportunity to take a different path and address SNAP’s crisis.

The United States Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request. For example, when I call, I tell them I am from Tennessee, and ask to be connected to Marsha Blackburn’s office. Then, I leave my message for Blackburn and call back and ask to be connected to Bill Haggerty’s office next. Every state has 2 Senators, so make sure you call twice so you can leave messages for both of the individuals who were elected to represent you!

Here’s a short script that will work for you no matter where you live when you call your Senators to tell them how you feel about SNAP:

“Hi, I’m a constituent calling from [YOUR CITY/STATE/ZIPCODE].

I’d like to share my thoughts with Senator [NAME]’s office about the upcoming Farm Bill vote:

I’m calling to urge Senator [NAME] to vote in favor of protecting SNAP funding in the Farm Bill. SNAP keeps families fed and strengthens our economy. Every dollar spent on SNAP generates economic activity in our communities, and cutting this program would hurt families.

Please vote NO on any farm bill that doesn’t reverse SNAP cuts. Please pass legislation that restores SNAP funding and rolls back the harmful work requirement changes.

This program is essential for food security and shouldn’t be a political bargaining chip.

I hope the Senator will vote to maintain or increase this critical program.

Thank you for taking my call.”

What to expect:

• You’ll likely reach a staff member answering phones or be sent to voicemail.
• Give your name, address, and the topic you wish to weigh in on. (In this case, that’s SNAP funding in the Farm Bill.)
• Your message gets logged in a tally of constituent calls.
• Quantity matters — High call volumes influence votes!
• Consider also sending an email or letter for the official record. Many offices track contacts by method.

The Bottom Line

Four million Americans lost SNAP benefits in the past year. The rules changed, not their circumstances. As we head toward the Senate’s farm bill vote, there’s still an opportunity to reverse course and protect food assistance for the millions of Americans who depend on it. But that won’t happen without pressure. It won’t happen without you making phone calls, sending emails, volunteering, and telling your story. The fight for SNAP isn’t over, in many ways, it’s just beginning. Your action matters more now than ever.

Sources:

• SNAP Numbers Fall Across US–Food Banks Are Sounding the Alarm – Newsweek
• SNAP Tracker: People Are Losing Food Assistance as the Republican Megabill Is Implemented | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Post-Megabill Drop in SNAP Participation Is Steepest in Decades | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• 4 Million Fewer on SNAP Benefits After Trump Rule Changes – Newsweek
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – Key Statistics and Research | Economic Research Service
• By the Numbers: Harmful Republican Megabill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• By the Numbers: Senate Republican Leadership’s Reconciliation Bill Takes Food Assistance Away From Millions of People | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Related Nutrition Programs in P.L. 119-21: An Overview | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
• Trump’s spending bill cuts billions in SNAP benefits
• House passes 2026 farm bill | National Association of Counties
• House Passes 2026 Farm Bill: The Impact on U.S. Farmers – AgWeb
• House passes farm bill 224-200, now on to Senate | Capital Press
• The Latest Updates on the Farm Bill – Farm Aid
• Highlights of House-Passed 2026 Farm Bill | Center for Crop Diversification
• Household Food Security in the United States in 2024 | Economic Research Service
• USDA Food Security Report Reveals 47.9 Million Americans Facing Hunger, FRAC Urges Congress to Act Now – Food Research & Action Center
• USDA’s Final Household Food Security Report: A Current Snapshot and a Loss for the Future – Alliance to End Hunger
• Statement on USDA 2024 Food Security Report | Feeding America
• USDA released its annual food security report. It could be the last one | WUSF
• H.R. 1 and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): What Counties Should Know | National Association of Counties
• SNAP Cuts Mitigation Hub: Responding to H.R. 1 – Food Research & Action Center
• SNAP Under H.R. 1: What’s Changing and Why It Matters – Disability Belongs™
• SNAP Changes HR1 Budget Reconciliation Law – Hunger Solutions New York
• How SNAP Cuts in H.R. 1 Threaten College Student Food Security – NYC Food Policy Center (Hunter College)

More Helpful Resources

Shelf-Stable Strategies: Preparing for SNAP Disruptions

Smart Grocery Shopping Tips When You’re Already Pinching Pennies

10 Foods I Freeze to Save Money and Reduce Waste