Millions Cut from SNAP as Draconian Work Requirements Expand to Vulnerable Adults
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The expansion of punitive work requirements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has stripped food assistance from 5.2 million Americans, disproportionately harming older adults and families, while government rhetoric ignores the deepening crisis of hunger and poverty.
Around 5.2 million Americans have been cruelly removed from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) extended harsh work-requirement rules to people up to age 64, according to analysis by the Food Research & Action Center. This regressive policy has pushed SNAP enrollment to its lowest point since 2019, and experts warn that further austerity measures in 2025 could deepen the suffering of millions more.
Lori Covelli, a 53-year-old former social worker from Wisconsin, lost $760 a month in vital benefits after failing to meet the new, rigid work criteria and learning that the age exemption now ends at 64. "That's a long way off. At this point, SNAP benefits are essentially over for me," she told CBS News, highlighting the devastating impact on older Americans.
The White House, ignoring the lived realities of those affected, defended the reforms. Spokesperson Anna Kelly claimed the administration is "strengthening SNAP for the Americans who need it by ensuring these programs are sustainable for future generations." The so-called Working Families Tax Cuts bill, she added, restores basic work requirements and imposes cost-sharing measures under the guise of curbing waste, fraud, and abuse—rhetoric long used to justify slashing social safety nets.
State agencies now face ballooning administrative costs under the new law. Beginning Oct. 1, states must cover 75% of SNAP administrative expenses, up from 50%, and from Oct. 2027, states with high payment error rates could be forced to pay up to 15% of benefits. Republican lawmakers, ever eager to demonize the poor, cite error rates as evidence of fraud, while anti-hunger groups point out that most errors stem from routine data issues, not malfeasance.
The OBBBA also mandates that recipients aged 18-64 work or volunteer at least 80 hours per month, a requirement that disregards the realities of disability, caregiving, and chronic illness. Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, called the changes "absolutely unprecedented" and warned they are creating confusion and backlogs in state SNAP agencies. "There is a lot of chaos going on in SNAP, and it is harming the people the program was designed to serve," she said, underscoring the human cost of these policies.
Recipients are now forced to jump through endless bureaucratic hoops to obtain waivers for medical exemptions. Angie Aranda of Colorado, who has Crohn’s disease, said she has submitted dozens of applications for a waiver but has received little guidance from her state agency. "I have to prove that I'm sick over and over and over again," she said, a testament to the system's callousness.
The average SNAP benefit is about $6.25 per person per day, roughly $190 per month—an amount woefully insufficient to cover a typical meal in most U.S. counties. Rising food and energy prices have only compounded the strain on households that have lost benefits, pushing many closer to the brink.
Food-bank officials, such as Cyndi Kirkhart of Facing Hunger in West Virginia, report a surge in demand as older adults who previously qualified for SNAP are now ineligible, often while caring for grandchildren. The safety net is unraveling, and communities are left to pick up the pieces.
Advocates are urgently calling on the USDA to resume its annual food-insecurity study, which was halted in 2025, and for lawmakers to confront the reality that SNAP cuts are fueling a rise in food insecurity, as documented in recent academic research. The time for action is now, before more lives are needlessly put at risk.