Washington D.C — A new CBS News article highlights the struggles Americans are facing due to SNAP cuts in the Republican Tax Law. 5.2 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits since the law was enacted and enrollment is now at its lowest since 2019. The funding cuts are also putting financial pressure on states like Arizona which has seen SNAP enrollment decline by 53% in the past year – the steepest fall off in the country.
SNAP recipients have voiced their struggles in attempts to gain responses from their states on changes to SNAP benefits as they learn to navigate new regulations. These new changes have come at a time when the cost of living has become high for Americans. With rising costs from gas to groceries, working families are growing more worried, especially as many are already living paycheck to paycheck.
CBS News: Millions of Americans are losing SNAP benefits: “It feels as though people are being punished”
Key Points:
- In May, President Trump said that millions of people have been “lifted off” of SNAP due to a stronger economy. But anti-hunger experts and food-stamp recipients say that doesn’t reflect what they are seeing, such as a job market where many are struggling to find work while coping with higher food costs.
- About 5.2 million Americans have lost SNAP benefits since the OBBBA was enacted, according to a recent analysis from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), an anti-hunger advocacy group.
- SNAP enrollment now stands at its lowest level since 2019. Experts predict that more people will drop out of the program in the coming months as the 2025 tax and spending law imposes additional changes to SNAP.
- SNAP’s overhaul is creating new hurdles for applicants and heavier financial burdens for the states that administer the program, experts said. Starting Oct. 1, states will be required to pay 75% of the program’s administrative costs, up from 50%.
- Some states say they have been overwhelmed with managing the SNAP changes mandated by the OBBBA. Arizona residents’ enrollment has dropped by 53% over the last year, the steepest of any state. In a June statement, its Department of Economic Security, which runs its SNAP program, said it had “been forced to rapidly overhaul our process to administer vital nutrition benefits” due to the OBBBA.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture halted its annual study on food insecurity in 2025, saying at the time that the report was “redundant, costly [and] politicized.” FitzSimons of FRAC said her group is asking lawmakers to reinstate the study because of the need to understand the impact of SNAP cuts across the U.S.
- A study released last year by Purdue University researchers found that food insecurity — meaning a lack of consistent access to nutritious food — rose in the U.S. last year between January and October. About 14% of households reported experiencing food insecurity during that period, up from 12.5% in 2024. The researchers cited inflation and SNAP cuts among the factors driving the increase.
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.