SNAP enrollment numbers decline as new restrictions take place

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - If you or someone you know relies on food stamps — new rules taking effect right now could mean losing that help. Enrollment in the nation’s largest food assistance program is falling much faster than expected, as new eligibility rules take effect. The changes were included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Supporters said the new requirements are meant to encourage more people to enter the workforce. But advocates warn some eligible families are losing benefits. They said paperwork and administrative delays are to blame.

New federal data showed SNAP enrollment fell from 42.2 million people last May to 36.6 million this May, that’s a drop of more than 13 percent in just one year.

The Congressional Budget Office didn’t expect that decline for several more years. SNAP helps more than one in ten Americans pay for groceries, the average household receives about $344 a month.

Liz O’Gilvie serves on the Governor’s Anti-Hunger Task Force. She said some of the hardest-hit recipients are grandparents who’ve been raising grandchildren and now must re-enter the workforce to keep their benefits, “now there are people who are going to lose their eligibility because of new restrictions that Donald Trump put into place. And that would be that if you’re over 65 and you’re raising a child, but they are over 14, 14 or over, you still have to go to work. Those people haven’t been working because they’ve been raising, in many cases, their grandchildren for all these years,” O’Gilvie said.

Under the new law, more recipients must work, volunteer or attend school to keep their benefits. The requirements now include many adults between 55 and 64. They also include some parents with children between 14 and 17. People 65 and older are exempt. So are parents with children under 14, and those with certain health limitations.

Advocates said some people aren’t losing benefits because they failed to work. They’re losing benefits because they missed a deadline or couldn’t provide the required documentation.

Advocates also warned the loss of SNAP can affect other programs — including free school meals and nutritional assistance for women and children.

We did reach out to Governor Maura Healey’s Office and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance for comment but have not yet heard back.