New SNAP Proposal Could Leave Millions of Families With Less Help Buying Groceries
For parents stretching a grocery budget, every dollar has a purpose: milk for breakfast, fruit for a lunchbox, ingredients for dinner. Losing help with those costs can mean difficult choices about what a family can afford and which other bills have to wait.
A new Trump administration proposal could put more households in that position. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 6.3 million people in 3.2 million households would lose SNAP benefits if its proposed eligibility changes take full effect. SNAP helps people with low incomes buy groceries.
The proposal has not taken effect. USDA projects its full impact in fiscal year 2029.
What would change for families?
Currently, states can use certain benefits and services funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, to help households qualify for SNAP. This allows some families to receive grocery assistance even when their earnings or savings exceed SNAP’s standard federal limits.
USDA’s proposal would narrow that pathway. Families receiving qualifying TANF assistance for ongoing basic needs could still qualify through that program, but certain other TANF-funded services would no longer provide the same route.
Households losing that pathway would have to qualify under SNAP’s regular rules or another permitted route. Some would remain eligible. Others would lose their grocery assistance because their income or countable assets exceed the federal limits.
Millions fewer people are already receiving help
The proposal comes after a sharp decline in SNAP enrollment. Between the One Big Beautiful Bill’s enactment in July 2025 and July 2026, the number of people receiving SNAP fell by about 5.5 million. The law expanded work requirements and made other cuts to the program.
The new proposal could also create additional steps for parents whose children receive free school meals through their household’s SNAP enrollment. USDA estimates that nearly 1.8 million children would lose automatic eligibility. About 97 percent would still qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on income, but families could need to complete a separate application.
USDA says the proposal would better target assistance to households meeting federal eligibility standards. Critics warn that it would make basic needs harder to afford for families who still need help.
Families and other members of the public can submit comments to USDA through December 10, 2026. For now, the proposal itself does not cancel anyone’s SNAP benefits.
