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SNAP enrollment falls 13% after work rules and cost-sharing take effect

SNAP enrollment falls 13% after work rules and cost-sharing take effect

Rule Changes

Food stamp rolls drop by 5.5 million people in the year since the 2025 reconciliation law

Today: Guardian reports 5 million people pushed off food stamps

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

More than five million Americans lost food stamp benefits in the year after the One Big Beautiful Act took effect in July 2025. Enrollment fell from 41.6 million to 36.1 million by July 2026 — a 13% drop, the steepest since the 1996 welfare overhaul.

The declines came with unemployment flat at 4%, evidence that policy, not the economy, is removing people from the rolls. The law expanded SNAP work requirements, ended eligibility for some immigrants, and shifted more program costs onto states, which now have financial reasons to shrink their caseloads.

Why it matters

Five million fewer Americans can buy groceries with federal help, and more cuts hit as states adopt stricter rules.

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Key Indicators

5.5 million
People removed from SNAP rolls since July 2025
A 13% decline in participation, the steepest since the 1996 welfare overhaul.
36.1 million
Current SNAP participation
The lowest level in 17 years, below the pre-pandemic figure of nearly 37 million in February 2020.
51%
Decline in Arizona's SNAP caseload
The hardest-hit state saw an outright majority of its food stamp recipients lose benefits.
4%
National unemployment rate since July 2025
Flat throughout the decline, suggesting reduced need is not driving the enrollment drop.

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People Involved

Donald Trump
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Signed the One Big Beautiful Act into law on July 4, 2025

Organizations Involved

U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Federal Agency
Administers SNAP and publishes the participation data

The federal agency that runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and releases the monthly enrollment figures tracking this decline.
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Policy Research Organization
Tracks the enrollment decline and criticizes the law

A Washington research group whose SNAP tracker aggregates USDA data and documents the law's effects on families.
Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
Federal Agency
Projected the law's effects on SNAP participation

The nonpartisan agency that scores legislation and projected work-requirement changes alone would cut SNAP participation by 2.4 million people monthly.

Timeline

July 2025 October 2026

6 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Guardian reports 5 million people pushed off food stamps

    Today Report

    Stakeholders warn more Americans face food insecurity as enrollment declines outpace economic need.

  2. States take on 75% of SNAP administrative costs

    Policy Change

    The federal share of admin costs drops from 50% to 25%, adding roughly $17 billion in state costs over five years.

  3. Participation hits 36.1 million, lowest in 17 years

    Data

    Declines registered in every state except Alaska, with 20% or greater drops in eight states.

  4. Enrollment falls to 36.5 million

    Data

    USDA data shows a 13% decline from the July 2025 baseline as restrictions phase in.

  5. One Big Beautiful Act signed into law

    Legislation

    The Republican reconciliation law cuts SNAP funding, expands work requirements, and shifts administrative costs to states.

  6. SNAP enrollment at 41.6 million

    Data

    The pre-law baseline month, before the One Big Beautiful Act's restrictions took effect.

Scenarios

1

SNAP rolls fall below 33 million as cost-shift rules bite

Likely Resolves by Oct 31, 2027

Discussed by: CBPP analysts and state officials

States face financial penalties if error rates stay high, so they add red tape: more frequent income verification, longer processing delays, and stricter documentation. Work requirements extending to adults up to age 65 and parents of children 14 and older take full effect. By October 2027, when states begin paying benefit costs, the caseload drops by another 3 million.

2

Courts or Congress halt key provisions

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Advocacy groups and legal observers

Legal challenges to the work-requirement expansion or the cost-shift provisions succeed in federal court. Alternatively, a post-midterm Congress with a different balance of power moves to restore SNAP funding or eligibility. Either outcome would slow or reverse the enrollment decline.

3

Decline stalls as state systems adjust

Uncertain Resolves by Oct 31, 2027

Discussed by: USDA and state agency officials

States streamline enrollment to avoid cutting eligible households, and the caseload stabilizes near 36 million with unemployment holding at 4%. Participation declines slow to near zero as the bars already in place take their full effect and no new restrictions are added.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

April 1997 – April 1998

1996 welfare reform SNAP decline (1997–1998)

Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act in 1996, which cut food stamp funding and tightened eligibility as part of a broader welfare overhaul. Food stamp participation dropped by 3 million people, a 13% decline, in the 12 months from April 1997 to April 1998.

Then

Millions of families lost food assistance within a year, with reduced access among eligible households and documented increases in food insecurity.

Now

The decline became the benchmark for fast SNAP contraction; participation later surged to record highs during the 2008–2013 Great Recession expansion.

Why this matters now

It is the last comparable drop in SNAP enrollment over a similar time frame — the same 13% decline, now matched in a single year by the 2025 reconciliation law.

2008–2013

SNAP expansion during the Great Recession (2008–2013)

As unemployment spiked, Congress loosened SNAP eligibility rules and boosted benefits, pushing participation to record highs above 47 million people by 2013. The program acted as a countercyclical safety net, expanding precisely when need grew.

Then

Millions of households relied on SNAP during the downturn, and enrollment tracked joblessness closely.

Now

The expansion cemented SNAP's role as the country's largest food assistance program, with enrollment responding to both economic conditions and policy rules.

Why this matters now

The current decline runs opposite to that pattern — participation is falling while unemployment holds steady, a sign that rule changes rather than economic recovery are driving people off the program.

Sources

(7)
+1
The Guardian Associated Press The Conversation Center on Budget and Policy Priorities NPR Politico PBS NewsHour