Utah News Dispatch
More uncertainty surrounds SNAP program as new changes take effect
A shopper who receives SNAP benefits slides an EBT card at a checkout counter in a Washington, D.C., grocery store in December 2024. (Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Utahns are back to buying groceries with help from federal food aid after the government shutdown put those payments on hold in November. But the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is still in the spotlight, with big changes already taking effect and more that could follow.
New SNAP work requirements began in November for those ages 55 to 64 and for parents whose children are older than 14. The changes, part of the sweeping budget legislation known as the “Big, Beautiful Bill” enacted by Congress this summer, also cut off aid for refugees and many other immigrants who were previously eligible.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has indicated more changes could come, floating the prospect of requiring all participants to reapply for the benefits and saying that “the SNAP program is rife with fraud,” although experts have said eligibility fraud is not a big problem. Nationwide, about 42 million people are enrolled in the program.
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Anti-hunger advocates in Utah say those comments could have a tangible impact far from Washington, D.C., making people hesitant to apply for the program even if they qualify.
“There’s just so much uncertainty, and so that makes people reluctant to apply,” said Gina Cornia, executive director of Utahns Against Hunger.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services, which administers SNAP, has been working with recipients to nail down whether they meet the new work requirements or qualify for exemptions, Cornia said. Even so, she anticipates many people will drop out of the program because they lack the means or the ability to get in touch with the agency and navigate a new system.
Cornia noted SNAP recipients in Utah and beyond have tried to use their payment cards at the grocery store, only to find out their accounts were hacked and the money stolen.
“Was there funding in the Big Beautiful Bill to prevent that kind of fraud? No, there was not,” Cornia said.
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The government shutdown in October and November illuminated the financial fallout for Utahns who were told they’d be cut off from federal food aid for a time. Before the shutdown ended on Nov. 12 and the month’s SNAP payments came through, some Utahns turned to community food pantries and stretched their budgets to make ends meet.
“Once that government closure hit, yeah — we just saw some really, really frightening numbers immediately,” said Ginette Bott, president of the Utah Food Bank, which serves hundreds of food pantries throughout the state.
The number of households helped through that network in November rose 36% percent from a year earlier, even before Thanksgiving, Bott said in a recent interview. Some small food pantries had to limit how many times people could come by, she added.
Traffic to the food bank’s website and a page showing where people can find help in their communities also shot up during the government closure, when federal workers were furloughed and SNAP was paused, Bott said.
