SNAP Enrollment Drops Faster Than Expected Under Work Rules

Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the largest federally funded food assistance program in the United States, fell by more than 13% over a 12-month period — a decline far steeper than government projections — as new work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill take hold. Newly released federal data shows SNAP enrollment dropped from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026, according to AP News.

Why the Drop Matters

SNAP helps more than 1 in 10 people in the U.S. buy food, with most beneficiaries living below the poverty line. The average monthly benefit is $344 per household. Since 2010, monthly enrollment has dipped below 40 million only twice — in 2019 and 2020 — making the current decline particularly notable. The rolls began falling after peaking at 43.3 million in October 2024, but they’ve dropped much faster since implementation began last year for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which cut an estimated $186 billion from SNAP over a decade and expanded work requirements.

The Congressional Budget Office projected in February that SNAP enrollment would fall below 34 million by 2036. But by May, enrollment had already reached levels the nonpartisan office had forecast for 2030 — roughly four years ahead of schedule.

Arizona Leads the Decline

Arizona has seen the nation’s steepest enrollment drop, with participation plummeting 55% from April 2025 to April 2026 — more than 400,000 fewer people receiving benefits. The state’s Department of Economic Security acknowledged that its own struggles implementing new federal requirements contributed significantly to the decline.

“Implementing the federally mandated changes triggered unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements, creating real barriers for applicants,” said Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, as reported by AP News.

Several other states saw declines exceeding 20%, including Georgia (36.5%), Nevada (23.1%), Florida (22.2%), and Louisiana (21.5%). Newsweek reported that in Georgia alone, roughly 27,700 individuals lost SNAP eligibility as of May 1 for not meeting new work requirements.

What the New Rules Require

The OBBBA, signed into law in July 2025, significantly expanded SNAP work requirements. Previously, adults 54 and younger without minor children were required to work to receive benefits. The new law extends requirements to adults ages 55-64, parents with children ages 14-17, veterans, homeless people, and youth who aged out of foster care. Able-bodied adults without dependents must complete at least 80 hours per month of work, job training, or volunteering.

Those 65 and older, those with children younger than 14, and those with health limitations remain exempt. The USDA ended existing work-requirement waivers on November 2, 2025, and expanded requirements began taking effect in states through late 2025 and early 2026.

Administrative Hurdles or Workforce Gains?

The causes of the enrollment decline are hotly debated. Supporters of the reforms, including the Heritage Foundation, argue the drop reflects people leaving welfare because they’re working and earning too much to qualify. “If there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they’re working and they’re moving forward, that would be a step forward,” Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told AP News.

But advocates and food bank leaders say administrative hurdles, paperwork requirements, and immigration fears are the primary drivers — not economic self-sufficiency. Tia Fields, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana, said the main reason she’s seeing people lose coverage is not failure to meet work requirements. “A lot of it is administrative paperwork,” she said.

Evidence supporting the administrative-burden theory includes the fact that unemployment rates in most states did not improve correspondingly during the enrollment decline. Arizona and Georgia each saw a 0.2 percentage point increase in unemployment during the period their SNAP rolls plunged, according to Governing. Food banks across the country also report surging demand, suggesting need hasn’t decreased.

In Phoenix, LaDiamond Lopez lost her benefits in January when officials requested more documentation about her income and household. She’s been skipping meals and some bill payments to ensure her children have enough to eat. “I was approved at the end of May, but now they’re asking me for more documents,” she said. “It’s a panic.”

Immigration Fears Add to the Decline

In Florida, the 22% enrollment drop is driven partly by immigrants who are in the U.S. legally but fear being targeted by the administration’s immigration crackdown if they seek government benefits, said Paco Velez, president and CEO of Feeding South Florida. At least 27 states, including Texas, have forwarded SNAP information to the Department of Homeland Security, creating fear in mixed-status families, as The Texas Tribune reported.

Food Banks Under Strain

Food banks nationwide report increased demand as SNAP rolls decline. In New Mexico, food bank leaders told lawmakers demand rose 40-60% after roughly 25,000 residents lost SNAP benefits. In Houston, the food bank reports dramatically increased calls for charitable food assistance.

“We’re very worried about it because we know that no other organization or program can replicate the scale and success of SNAP,” said Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Share Our Strength. “We know that schools can’t fill this gap. We know that food banks can’t fill this gap.”

What’s Next

Additional changes are on the horizon. States with SNAP payment error rates above 6% will be required to pay part of benefit costs starting October 2027, which advocates say may push states to deny benefits more aggressively. Several states are also implementing restrictions on what SNAP recipients can purchase, removing soda, candy, and other products from eligible items.

The USDA’s termination of the Household Food Security Report — the nation’s primary tool for tracking food insecurity — has made it harder to measure the real-world impacts of these changes. As Mother Jones reported, experts describe the loss as “driving without your speedometer.”

Colleen Heflin, a professor at Syracuse University who studies food insecurity and welfare policy, characterized the state-level drops as “a fundamental restructuring of the food-assistance safety net.” The full consequences of that restructuring — for families, food banks, and communities — are only beginning to emerge.