Food banks say they face a growing gap after SNAP participation fell by more than 4.5 million between the July 2025 enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill and April 2026, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorices estimates the number of children receiving SNAP has likely fallen by more than 1.5 million, and Terri Shoemaker, executive vice president of the Arizona Food Bank Network, said, "We've been operating kind of in emergency management mode. At some point, that will fatigue."
To meet increased demand, food banks are purchasing record levels of food, expanding application assistance and working with farmers and retailers to find additional supply sources, Feeding America CEO Denis McDonough said.
McDonough said, "The decline in SNAP participation is not necessarily evidence that fewer people need help. It is likelier ... that the program has become harder for eligible people to access it," and he said SNAP changes are colliding with high prices, leaving food banks bracing for as much or more demand than last fall's government shutdown.
SNAP now has expanded work requirements for food assistance, and exceptions for homeless people and veterans — as well as eligibility for many lawful immigrants — were removed.
A new program provision means that states with error rates — a measure of underpayments or overpayments in benefits — of 6% or higher will be responsible for covering benefit costs beginning in FY 2028, and in FY 2025 just nine states fell below 6%.
As states sprint to reduce their error rates before facing skyrocketing benefit bills next year, eligible households risk losing benefits because of administrative hurdles, like more frequent verification or processing delays, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes.
In Arizona, participation was cleaved roughly in half — the largest percentage change in the country — and the state's Department of Economic Security has had to take "distinct action" to address error rates, Shoemaker said; she warned, "If it doesn't, Arizona will be left with a bill it can't pay."
The changes have put those seeking benefits through hours-long interviews, extensive documentation checks and lengthy delays to ensure accuracy.
"SNAP is a means tested, appropriated entitlement. If a household is eligible, they receive the benefit," a USDA spokesperson said. "However, those same households are subject to recertification. Individuals might move to employment, become disinterested in participating, or experience another change in household circumstances."
"Payment accuracy is important, but it's only one measure of the success of a program," said Joseph Llobrera, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' food assistance team's senior director of research, and he said there is no corresponding fiscal penalty for erroneously denying or delaying benefits to an eligible household. Feeding America and other advocates are urging members of Congress to delay the tight cost-sharing deadline.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities warned that without immediate congressional action to delay the new cost shift for all states, "the unfolding emergency will only worsen as more children are cut off from the food assistance their families need to afford nutritious food," the organization said.
CBPP's analysis found variations among states: in Louisiana nearly one in four children receiving SNAP benefits lost assistance, and Massachusetts and Texas each saw close to one-fifth of children enrolled in the program removed from SNAP.
Representative Ilhan Omar pointed to the outcomes during a speech on the House floor earlier this month and had introduced an amendment aimed at reversing the SNAP cuts; the proposal was rejected by the Republican majority.
The US Conference of Mayors sent a letter to the Senate signed by more than 200 mayors calling for lawmakers to reverse the SNAP cuts and said, "SNAP remains the nation’s most effective and efficient anti-hunger program. It reduces poverty, supports local economies, and provides an automatic stabilizer during economic downturns."