Even as SNAP Resumes, New Work Rules Threaten Access for Years To Come

Alejandro Santillan-Garcia fears losing the aid that allows him to buy food. The 20-year-old Austin resident was eligible for federal child support last year because he left the Texas foster care system, which he entered as a baby.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – commonly known as food stamps or SNAP – helps feed 42 million low-income people in the United States. Now, because of changes included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to maintain his dietary benefits, Santillan-Garcia may soon have to prove to authorities that he is working.

He said he lost his last job for taking time off to go to the doctor because of recurring stomach infections. He doesn’t have a car and said he applied at a grocery store, Walmart, Dollar General, “any place you can think of” where he could walk or bike.

“No job hired me.”

Under the new federal budget law, to be eligible for SNAP benefits, more people must prove they are working, volunteering or studying. Those who do not complete their formalities on time risk losing their food aid for three years. States were initially instructed to begin counting strikes against participants on November 1, the same day that millions saw their SNAP benefits dry up due to the Trump administration’s refusal to fund the program during the government shutdown. But federal officials reversed course during the month, giving states until December to implement the new rules.

The new law further limits when states and counties with high unemployment can exempt beneficiaries from certain requirements. But a legal battle over the provision means the time frame for people to comply with the new rules varies depending on where beneficiaries live, even within a state in some cases.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture did not respond to a detailed list of questions about how the new rules around SNAP will be implemented, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether the rules could provide a boost to people who rely on the program. The law extended exemptions to many Native Americans.

Still, states must comply with the new rules or face penalties that could force them to pay a larger share of the program’s cost, which totaled about $100 billion last year.

President Donald Trump signed the massive budget bill, along with new SNAP rules, on July 4. States initially predicted they would need at least 12 months to implement such significant changes, said Chloe Green, deputy director of the American Public Human Services Association which advises states on federal programs.

Under the law, “able-bodied” people subject to work requirements can lose their access to benefits for three years if they go three months without proof of their work hours.

Depending on when states implement the rules, many people could start being excluded from SNAP early next year, said Lauren Bauer, an economic studies fellow at the Brookings Institution, a policy think tank. According to the Congressional Budget Office, these changes are expected to take at least 2.4 million people off SNAP over the next decade.

“It’s really hard to work when you’re hungry,” Bauer said.

Many adult SNAP recipients under age 55 already had to meet work requirements before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act became law. Now, for the first time, adults aged 55 to 64 and parents whose children are all 14 or older must demonstrate 80 hours of work or other qualifying activities per month. The new law also removes exemptions for veterans, the homeless and former foster youth, like Santillan-Garcia, that had been in place since 2023.

Republican policymakers said the new rules were part of a broader effort to root out waste, fraud and abuse in public aid programs.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in November that in addition to the law, she would require millions of people to reapply for benefits to combat fraud, but did not provide further details. Rollins told Newsmax she wants to make sure SNAP benefits are reserved for those who “are vulnerable” and “can’t survive without it.”

States are required to notify people that they are subject to changes to their SNAP benefits before they are cut, Green said. Some states have announced the changes on websites or by sending mailers to recipients, but many don’t give registrants much time to comply.

Anti-hunger advocates worry that these changes, and the confusion surrounding them, will increase the number of hungry people in the United States. Food pantries reported record numbers of people seeking help this year.

Even when following work rules, people often report difficulty uploading documents and having their benefits processed by overwhelmed state systems. In a survey of SNAP participants, about 1 in 8 adults reported losing their food benefits because they had difficulty completing their paperwork, according to the Urban Institute. Some enrollees have been excluded from aid due to state errors and staffing shortages.

Pat Scott, a community health worker at the Beaverhead Resource Assistance Center in rural Dillon, Montana, is the only person within an hour’s drive who helps people access public assistance, including seniors without reliable transportation. But the center is only open once a week, and Scott says he’s seen people lose coverage because of problems with the state’s online portal.

Jon Ebelt, a spokesman for the Montana Department of Health, said the state is always working to improve its programs. He added that while some rules have changed, there is already a system in place for reporting work requirements.

In Missoula, Mont., Jill Bonny, director of the Poverello Center, said homeless shelter clients already have difficulty seeking help because they often lose their documents while having to carry everything they own on a daily basis. She said she also worries that the federal changes could push more seniors into homelessness if they lose SNAP benefits and are forced to choose between paying rent or buying food.

In the United States, people 50 or older are the fastest growing homeless group, according to federal data.

Sharon Cornu is the executive director of St. Mary’s Center, which helps homeless seniors in Oakland, California. She said the rule changes sow distrust. “This is not normal. We are not following the usual rules,” Cornu said, referring to the federal changes. “It’s punitive and mean-spirited.”

In early November, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to provide full SNAP payments during the government shutdown, which ended on November 12. That same judge sought to cushion some of the work requirements ahead. He ordered the government to honor existing agreements that waive work requirements in certain states and counties until each agreement expires. A total of 28 states and the District of Columbia had such exemptions, with different end dates.

Adding to the confusion, some states, including New Mexico, have waivers that mean people in different counties will be subject to the rules at different times.

If states don’t accurately document the employment status of SNAP enrollees, they will be forced to pay later, Green said. Under the new law, states must cover a portion of food costs for the first time — and the amount depends on how accurately they calculate benefits.

During the government shutdown, when no one was receiving SNAP benefits, Santillan-Garcia and his girlfriend relied on grocery store gift cards they received from a nonprofit to prioritize feeding his girlfriend’s baby. They went to a pantry for themselves, even though many foods, including dairy, make Santillan-Garcia sick.

He fears he will find himself in this situation again in February when he has to renew his benefits – without the exemption for former foster youth. Texas authorities have not yet informed him what he will need to do to stay on SNAP.

Santillan-Garcia said he prays that if he is unable to find a job, he can find another way to ensure his long-term qualification for SNAP.

“They’ll probably take it away from me,” he said.

What you need to know

Changes to SNAP removed work requirement exemptions for:

• People aged 55 to 64.
• Caregivers of dependent children aged 14 or over
• Veterans
• People without housing
• People aged 24 or younger who are no longer in foster care

What SNAP participants should do:

• Check with public assistance agencies to find out when the new rules will take effect in your area. Your benefits may be verified during recertification, but you may need to follow monthly employment reporting rules well before that.
• Inform your state if you are responsible for a dependent child under 14 who lives in your home; pregnant; be a student at least half the time; participate in a drug or alcohol treatment program; physically or mentally unable to work; a Native American; or a guardian of an incapacitated household member. If so, you may still be exempt.