SNAP Enrollment Plummets as Millions Lose Food Assistance

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that national SNAP participation dropped 10% between July 2025 and March 2026. In 13 states where data is available, children account for nearly half of the 1.7 million people removed from the rolls. Experts warn that the current figures represent only the beginning, as the most punitive provisions of the GOP budget law remain to be implemented.

Starting in 2027, states will be required to cover 5% to 15% of SNAP benefit costs, a change tied directly to current error rates. Policy analysts argue this structure creates a perverse incentive for states to aggressively deny benefits to eligible families to avoid fiscal penalties. Katie Bergh, a senior analyst at the CBPP, described the situation as an emergency, noting that even families who remain eligible on paper are being pushed out of the system. Comparisons to the 1996 welfare reform era show that the current pace of benefit loss is nearly double that of previous historic cuts, despite stable national unemployment rates.