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More Than Three Million People Have Lost Federal Food Aid
The number of food-stamp recipients is dropping sharply across the country as states move to implement new Trump administration rules on who qualifies.
Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, has decreased by nearly 3.5 million people since stricter eligibility requirements were enacted last July, federal data show. Some states, including Arizona, are seeing dramatic declines in the numbers of SNAP recipients.
Under the new rules, able-bodied adults aged 18 to 64 without children under 14 must work, volunteer or participate in approved job-training programs for at least 80 hours a month. The previous age limit for work requirements was 54, and allowed exemptions for adults with children under 18.
Immigrants who enter or remain in the country illegally have never been eligible for SNAP benefits, but the new rules end eligibility for certain non-U.S. citizens in the country with legal permission.
Last fiscal year, an average of 42.1 million people, including children, received monthly SNAP benefits at a total cost of $101.7 billion, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, which oversees the program.
Monthly enrollment began a sustained drop in July 2025, when President Trump’s tax and spending megabill became law, federal data show. In January, the latest available federal data showed the number of people receiving benefits had dropped to 38.5 million, a decrease of more than 8% over around six months.
In Arizona, which incorporated the new rules immediately after the legislation’s passage, the number of SNAP recipients has fallen by roughly 50%, according to state data.
Brett Bezio, a spokesman for Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, which administers the program there, said work-requirement changes were the primary driver of the drop.
Colleen Heflin, a professor at Syracuse University who studies food insecurity, said larger state drops like Arizona’s were “beyond anything we’ve ever seen.” Heflin said she was concerned it would result in vulnerable Americans not getting enough to eat.
“These large state drops in SNAP caseloads represent a fundamental restructuring of the food-assistance safety net,” she said. “We should expect to see a surge in food insecurity and its related negative consequences at new levels.”
A spokesperson for the USDA said the department would continue “to serve those with the greatest need,” while also working to prevent waste and fraud. The shift, the spokesperson said, largely reflected the most expansive work-requirement changes to the program in decades.
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the tighter work requirements will reduce spending on SNAP by $68.6 billion over roughly the next decade. The office also estimated it would result in an around 2.4 million fewer people receiving monthly SNAP benefits over that period.
Some states, like Virginia, which has seen a 13% drop in SNAP recipients since last summer, say they are seeking to help people affected by the changes to remain eligible for food stamps, by linking them with jobs or volunteer opportunities.
The Trump administration’s bill also restricts the ability of states to request waivers for work requirements to areas with over 10% unemployment. Previously, several states had been able to get waivers based on much lower unemployment thresholds.
Officials in Illinois, whose work waiver ended Jan. 31, said the bulk of its drop in SNAP recipients will likely show up after May 1. That is when the three months of food aid for people who no longer qualify for SNAP under the new rules expires. State officials there said up to 120,000 people could lose food benefits as of this month.
“We’re deeply concerned about the sharp caseload decline we will see beginning this week,” said Nolan Downey, senior director of policy for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank.
Bruce Meyer, a professor of public policy at the University of Chicago who studies poverty, said that while he thought SNAP had become too bloated and supported some work requirements, he was troubled by the steep declines in states like Arizona.
“Most of the people who are getting food stamps are needy,” he said. “When you’re cutting that many people, you’re probably cutting into some people who really do need the benefits.”
