THE CONSEQUENCES OF CONGRESS' BUDGET ON SNAP

In New York City, 1.8 million people receive SNAP, including 500,000 children.

·      Work requirements for Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD).  1) The age range has increased from what was 18-54 years to 18-64 years. 2) Mothers with children younger than 14 are still exempt, but mothers whose youngest child age 14-18 are not.  3) There is no longer a provision to waive this rule for States that prove a lack of sufficient jobs available.  4) Exemptions for people who are homeless, veterans, or former foster youths have been expunged, and these people now face work requirements. 

·       Students: unpaid internships and required field placements no longer automatically meet eligibility standards. As a result, many low-income students who are already working or completing mandatory training for their degrees would be newly disqualified.

·      Administering SNAP at the State level had to be reorganized as the SNAP laws have been changed.  1) State departments must recalibrate their forms and probably add more employees to follow up on people more regularly to ensure they are working or looking for jobs and to take people off the rolls who may no longer qualify.  Originally, they had 120 days to make these changes, but USDA removed that window (which would have meant a start date of February) and amended these changes to begin last month, November 2025.  2) States will have to pay 75% of administrative costs for SNAP starting in October 2026, while the Federal government only covers 25%. This is a dramatic change from what was a 50/50% split.   3) Starting in fiscal year 2028 (October 2027), states with high payment error rates will also face additional financial penalties.  And 4) Democratic States have been threatened with restriction of federal funds for SNAP for refusing to give up data on place of birth and other personal details of people receiving SNAP.

·      Bodegas, gas station stores and small grocery stores will have to increase the number of SNAP choices they offer, which is both good (more choice, and more fresh choice) and difficult as small stores have limited space and some neighborhoods rely heavily on these small stores.  The way it worked before: SNAP retailers are required to stock three varieties of food in each of four categories:  dairy, protein, grain, and produce (12 foods total).  The Suggested Rule Change: increases variety requirements to seven per staple food category (28 foods in total) and at least one of the foods in 3 of the categories are perishable, which is expected to pass muster.  We are hoping the USDA helps these small stores with the changes and doesn’t immediately restrict SNAP as people who live in areas far from supermarkets need these stores. (Many of these bodegas also give credit when SNAP dollars have been used up before the end of the month).

·      What you can buy with SNAP may change by State.   At least 8 States (it is changing quickly) have been given approval to restrict SNAP users from buying sugary beverages and/or certain candy, etc. Originally, I thought restricting certain foods was a good idea, because why should the government give money to people to buy unhealthy food that makes them sick?  But when you think about it, SNAP is about $6/day per person which is just not enough to buy the healthier (and usually more expensive) foods.  Wouldn’t it be better for the population to limit everyone’s unhealthy food habits and not just focus on people who are poor?   For example, a tax on sugary drinks would affect everyone and there is plenty of data to show that not only has this been effective, but the additional tax has brought in money for childcare and other supportive programs.

·      There is also a change in the way the government will assess the cost of a typical food basket.  The government calculates the cost and nutrition of 4 food plans.  The one for SNAP is the lowest cost food plan called the Thrifty Plan, and this plan is only used for SNAP (assessing food costs in divorce court uses a higher cost plan).  For the first time, the cost of the Thrifty Plan will no longer be based on inflation of food costs but be calculated on general inflation only. (Meaning if food costs go up, but general inflation doesn’t, then the cost of the food basket doesn’t change).  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that this will results in about $7 per day less per person.  This will also be difficult for grocery stores in high poverty neighborhoods where SNAP is critical to keeping them functioning (SNAP runs between 30-70% of revenue).  Just think about the Bronx where 35% of the residents receive SNAP (almost half million people) and 2000 SNAP retailers.

·      Eligibility for some non-citizens to receive SNAP has changed.  Until now, non-citizens who entered the United States as refugees or were granted asylum, were eligible for SNAP, based on their status at the time of their admission or for many who were granted humanitarian parole.  This new bill eliminates many of these categories of eligibility.

·      SNAP-Ed, (the National Education and Obesity Prevention Grant program), has been eliminated.  There is no more federal funding for evidence-based programs that teach people how to cook healthy meals while stretching their SNAP dollars.