More than 5 million Americans have left the SNAP food assistance program following new restrictions enacted under President Donald Trump’s 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law expanded mandatory work requirements up to age 64 and raised state administrative funding burdens. While administration officials celebrate reduced enrollment as a move toward self-sufficiency, food banks report surging community demand and schools face widespread loss of universal free lunch eligibility.
National SNAP enrollment drop
- ▪A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson stated that SNAP enrollment fluctuates constantly and does not reflect any single policy change.
- ▪U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated in August 2026 that moving 5 million people off SNAP benefits represented a major success for promoting work.
- ▪Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment fell by over 5 million people, from 41.6 million in July 2025 to around 36 million by mid-2026, following One Big Beautiful Bill Act restrictions.
Expanded SNAP work rules
- ▪The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated automatic SNAP work requirement exemptions for military veterans and individuals experiencing homelessness.
- ▪The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded SNAP work requirements to adults aged 18 to 64, raising the upper age threshold from 54, and households with children aged 14 to 17 without younger dependents.
- ▪Non-exempt SNAP recipients must work or join approved volunteer or training programs for at least 80 hours monthly to retain food assistance benefits.
State SNAP enrollment declines
- ▪SNAP enrollment in Florida declined 22 percent between July 2025 and July 2026, dropping from 2.8 million to 2.2 million recipients.
- ▪SNAP enrollment dropped 50 percent in Arizona between July 2025 and June 2026, falling from approximately 882,000 to 433,000 recipients.
Rising demand at food banks
- ▪The Food Bank Council of Michigan experienced a threefold increase in daily helpline calls after SNAP restrictions took effect, forcing a temporary helpline suspension in October 2026.
- ▪Non-profit organization Feed Louisville reported that its food supplies are now completely exhausted every day to meet heightened community demand.
- ▪Nearly three-quarters of 48 large food banks surveyed in 2026 reported rising demand following federal SNAP benefit reductions.
EBT card skimming and security
- ▪The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule requiring states to issue chip-enabled EBT cards to protect SNAP benefits against card-skimming fraud.
- ▪Chip-enabled EBT cards cost approximately ten times more to produce than magnetic stripe cards, according to the Government Accountability Office.
- ▪Data from financial application Propel showed that $470 million in SNAP benefits was electronically stolen from recipients during 2025.
- ▪The USDA Office of Inspector General projected in January 2026 that SNAP card-skimming theft could total $233 million between 2025 and 2026.
Effects on school meal programs
- ▪The Knox Community School Corporation in rural Indiana accumulated $10,000 in unpaid school lunch debt early in the 2026 school year.
- ▪Twenty-six schools in the Houston Independent School District lost eligibility for universal free meal programs under the Community Eligibility Provision following SNAP enrollment declines.
- ▪Decreased SNAP enrollment caused schools to lose qualification for the federal Community Eligibility Provision, which grants universal free school meals when 25 percent of students receive benefits.
State SNAP funding requirements
- ▪The One Big Beautiful Bill Act increased the state-funded share of SNAP administrative costs from 50 percent to 75 percent starting in October 2026.
- ▪Starting in October 2027, states will be required to pay a portion of SNAP benefit costs if their payment error rate exceeds 6 percent.
SNAP cuts in Kentucky
- ▪Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear sent a letter in October 2026 warning that federal SNAP restrictions are increasing hunger among Kentucky children and elderly residents.
- ▪SNAP enrollment in Kentucky decreased by 6 percent between July 2025 and June 2026.
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