Experts warn Trump admin's changes to SNAP could impact millions of Americans
The halting of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in 2025, owing to the government shutdown, made headlines at the time. On February 1, new work requirements for the program will go into effect, and it could see millions of people lose out on those benefits. The program was made to help low-income and vulnerable families pay for their groceries, and more than 40 million American families depend on it to make ends meet.
The amendments to the program were part of the big beautiful bill that President Donald Trump signed last year. The changes made were meant to help certain Americans receive benefits for more than three months over three years. That is the time limit. Under the new rules, the government raised the maximum age limit for those who need to meet work requirements from 54 to 64 for able-bodied adults without dependents, as per a report on ABC News.
Exemptions were also changed for family members and parents who were responsible for a dependent under 18 years old. The amendment lowers the age of exemptions to those caring for children under 14 years old. Experts believe that these changes will be disastrous for millions of Americans who would not be eligible to receive SNAP benefits anymore. Estimates of August from the Congressional Budget Office already predicted that about 1.1 million people would lose SNAP benefits between 2025 and 2034.
The number included 800,000 able-bodied adults through age 64 who don't live with dependents and 300,000 parents or caregivers up to age 64 with children aged 14 and older. Apart from that, about a million more able‑bodied adults ages 18 to 54, or 18 to 49 starting in 2031, who do not have anyone depending on them, could also lose benefits.
That is not all. The report states that exemptions were removed for homeless individuals, veterans, and young adults who were in foster care when they turned age 18 under the megabill. As per Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit Hunger Free America, this is a bad decision. "Millions of people will unnecessarily be kicked off the rolls. They will lose the food they need, and sometimes family members need. ... More Americans will go hungry. Soup kitchens and food pantries and the food banks that supply them will not have the resources to meet this need,” he said.
"It will be extraordinarily difficult for them, and they are among the most vulnerable Americans already. Some of the most vulnerable populations -- homeless people, veterans, and young people who just left foster care -- are going to lose their food, lose their groceries, and there is no plan in place to fix that."
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