{"id":81395,"date":"2026-06-01T22:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81395"},"modified":"2026-06-01T22:36:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:36:02","slug":"snap-cuts-threaten-food-security-in-vulnerable-communities-new-data-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=81395","title":{"rendered":"SNAP Cuts Threaten Food Security in Vulnerable Communities, New Data Show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By<\/span>Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Black, Latino, and Native American households face greater food uncertainty than the population at large, according to data from the Congressional District Health Dashboard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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A farmer\u2019s market in Jackson, Mississippi. (Natalie Maynor photo via Flickr\/Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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During a period marked by soaring food prices, more than 3 million people have lost access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program \u2014 SNAP \u2014 over the past 10 months.<\/p>\n

An additional 1 million more are expected to lose the critical food safety net over the next 6 months as new work requirements roll out for more states, according to new data released by the\u00a0Congressional District Health Dashboard.<\/a>\u00a0Black, Latino, and Native American households face greater food uncertainty than the population at large, according to CDHD data.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a nutrition program. SNAP is one of the most amazing public health policies and programs that we have in our country,\u201d said said Dr. Giridhar Mallya, senior policy officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Speaking at an American Community Media news briefing May 22, Mallya noted that the new SNAP cuts were the deepest ever since the program rolled out in 1964.<\/p>\n

California is one of the states with the highest levels of SNAP participation, said Dr. Lorna Thorpe, chair of the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and co-principal investigator of the dashboard project. In California\u2019s 21st Congressional District, centered around Fresno, and the 22nd District near Bakersfield, more than half of households participate in SNAP, according to the dashboard\u2019s third-quarter 2025 data.<\/p>\n

New work requirements<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Last summer, Congress passed\u00a0HR1<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. The legislation cut almost $1 trillion from critical health and food safety nets. It also imposed new eligibility requirements, including working at least 80 hours per month. The budget of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program \u2014 SNAP \u2014 was slashed by $187 billion through 2034.<\/p>\n

Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia began strictly enforcing the work guidelines shortly after HR1 was passed. Illinois and Ohio also began counting work hours for SNAP eligibility later that summer.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s work requirements for SNAP eligibility begin June 1.<\/p>\n

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More than 50% of California\u2019s 22nd Congressional District \u2014 in the Central Valley \u2014 receive SNAP food assistance, according to data from the Congressional District Health Dashboard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SNAP supports seniors and children<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities\u00a0estimates<\/a>\u00a0that 700,000 low-income children have lost food aid since HR1 took effect last July. CBPP surveyed 12 states for which data was available.<\/p>\n

38 million people, including families, children, the disabled and the elderly people currently use SNAP to buy food. The program supports individuals living at or below 130% of the federal poverty level,\u00a0about $42,900<\/a>\u00a0for a family of 4.<\/p>\n

SNAP supports\u00a01 out of 4 children<\/a>\u00a0living in the US, notes the CBPP. About\u00a08 million elderly<\/a>\u00a0people also rely on the program, according to the National Council on Aging. For 2026, an eligible SNAP recipient receives about $204 per month<\/a>, working out to $2.20 per meal.<\/p>\n

Rising food prices, less food security<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The\u00a0Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index<\/a>\u00a0notes that in the past 13 months, food prices rose by 2.9%. American families now spend about $345 per week on groceries, about $1,380 per month.<\/p>\n

Beginning this year, states must assume a larger share of SNAP administrative costs, rising from 50% to 75%. Starting in 2027, states also will be required to cover between 5% and 15% of SNAP food benefit costs.<\/p>\n

The changes could force difficult budget decisions nationwide. Many states that are unable to pay their share may drop out of SNAP entirely.<\/p>\n

Reductions could worsen hunger<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cBlack households, Latino households, and certain Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are overrepresented in the SNAP program. This is because of longstanding economic inequality,\u201d Mallya said at the briefing. \u201cSo when SNAP participation declines, those communities are disproportionately affected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mallya warned the reductions could worsen hunger, increase malnutrition and intensify chronic health conditions among vulnerable populations.<\/p>\n

Research consistently links SNAP access to improved infant health, better educational performance, and reduced hospitalizations among low-income seniors, Mallya said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s good evidence that seniors who receive SNAP are better able to afford medications and manage chronic illnesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Onerous work requirements<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mallya also criticized the new work requirements for SNAP eligibility. Expanded work requirements now apply to adults ages 55 to 64 and parents of children as young as 14. He noted that the documentation requirements create bureaucratic burdens that are difficult to navigate by particularly vulnerable individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe majority of SNAP recipients who can work already do work,\u201d he said. \u201cThey do very little to increase employment, but they lead to huge drops in participation. And that\u2019s because the paperwork is very confusing and time consuming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration enforcement<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Immigration enforcement actions are creating additional fear among mixed-status families, experts said, discouraging eligible citizen children from enrolling in SNAP or Medicaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing citizen children lose benefits because parents are afraid to engage with government programs,\u201d Mallya said. \u201cThat fear is understandable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Undocumented immigrants have never been eligible for SNAP benefits. But advocates say anti-immigrant rhetoric and data-sharing policies have created a chilling effect across immigrant communities.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Central Valley<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The new SNAP data establish an important baseline for tracking the effects of the policy changes, said Thorpe at the May 8 briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data show that more than one in six households in the United States participate in SNAP. But geographically, there is tremendous variation between congressional districts,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

The dashboard found SNAP participation ranging from as low as 3% of households in some districts to nearly 60% in others.<\/p>\n

Already vulnerable communities hit hardest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Thorpe noted that many of the districts with elevated SNAP participation also experience high unemployment, lower incomes and other indicators tied to poorer health outcomes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the dashboard allows people to see is how federal nutrition policy intersects with housing, poverty, employment and health,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The dashboard also includes demographic breakdowns by race, ethnicity, age and sex for many health measures, helping reporters and policymakers identify disparities within districts.<\/p>\n

In California\u2019s 12th Congressional District, which includes Oakland and Berkeley, Thorpe demonstrated how life expectancy and breast cancer mortality differ sharply among racial groups. Black residents in the district experienced lower life expectancy and higher breast cancer mortality rates than white, Hispanic and Asian residents.<\/p>\n

The demographic breakdowns help illustrate longstanding racial and economic inequities affecting health outcomes, said the researcher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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