SNAP Background
The shutdown brought the scale of the federal food aid program into focus and raised questions about how such a rich country could have so many people on nutrition assistance.
www.nytimes.com
“… Eligibility is based on income limits — typically 130 percent of the federal poverty level — and participants are subject to reporting rules and work requirements. In 2025, that 130 percent figure translates into $529 a week for a household of two, or $27,495 a year, according to
federal guidelines. The eligibility cutoff is $41,795 for a family of four.
… Going back decades, participation in SNAP usually varied between 7 percent and 11 percent of the population, according to
the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. That percentage rose significantly during the financial crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, peaking at almost 19 percent in 2013, or more than 47 million people.
During the pandemic,
under the first Trump administration, emergency legislation temporarily and partly suspended a longstanding requirement that “able-bodied” adult SNAP recipients without dependents work. The suspension ended in 2023, and the Biden administration agreed to add stricter work requirements to SNAP under
a deal with Republican lawmakers in 2023.
… The 41 million figure is likely to shrink soon, but not necessarily because the economy will lift SNAP beneficiaries out of poverty. Instead, Mr. Trump’s signature domestic policy law, which took effect on Nov. 1, will change a number of criteria affecting SNAP, according to federal
guidance.
Starting this month, able-bodied adults between ages 18 and 64 must work at least 80 hours per month, or be involved in volunteering or an education or training program, to remain eligible for more than three months in a three-year period. The previous age limit was 54.
Caregivers of children have long had an exemption from work requirements, and children were defined as anyone under 18 in a SNAP recipient’s care. Under the new law, the exemption applies to people caring for children under 14. Homeless people, veterans and people under 24 who had aged out of foster care also used to be exempt. Now they are not….”
—> 
