Millions lose food aid as GOP budget overhaul hits SNAP

Nationwide enrollment in SNAP dropped 10% between July 2025 and March 2026, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Arizona has faced the most severe impact, with a reduction in enrollment exceeding 50%. Across 13 states where data is available, children account for nearly half of the 1.7 million individuals recently removed from the program.

Analysts warn that the situation will worsen as further provisions of the GOP budget law take effect in 2027. Under these rules, states must cover between 5% and 15% of benefit costs, with financial penalties tied to administrative error rates. Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at CBPP, stated that states are already aggressively cutting access to minimize their own financial exposure. This shift risks penalizing eligible families to avoid the costs of managing the program accurately.

Critics highlight the unprecedented scale of this contraction. Tahra Hoops of the Chamber of Progress noted that the current decline is twice as severe as the fallout from the 1996 welfare reform law, even though the national unemployment rate remains steady. Policy analyst Michael Linden characterized the legislative impact as a systemic failure, describing the resulting loss of food security for children as a man-made catastrophe.