Now that President Donald Trump’s big budget bill has been signed into law, Arkansas nonprofits that rely on federal funding to help people in need are trying to figure out how they will continue to serve their clients.
The legislation calls for cutting billions of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Lance Whitney, advocacy director with Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, said it would cost food banks across the state almost $46 million a year to continue to help those who face food insecurity.
“That does not include the cost of increased capacity needed to serve those individuals,” said Whitney, “like in warehouse space, the vehicles the staffing to hand out that, the refrigeration. With those included it would ramp it up to an additional probably $10 million.”
Whitney predicted that children, veterans, caregivers, and older adults in Arkansas will suffer the most because of the cuts. Arkansas has the highest food insecurity rate in the nation.
The federal government will start cost-sharing with states for SNAP benefits in 2027. The amount the government contributes to administrative costs will be cut from 50% to 25%, leaving states responsible for 75% of the total cost.
Whitney said state and local governments will have to divert money from other essential services to cover SNAP benefits.
“It can’t be ignored when you have people who can’t eat, health care that’s going down, school lunches that can’t be provided for,” said Whitney. “So every community, every person in the state of Arkansas – whether you’re a SNAP recipient or a Medicaid recipient, or just a community person – you’re going to have a challenge with this.”
The legislation expands work requirements for older adults and parents with children age seven and older.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, that could take food assistance away from more than three million adults a month.
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Oregon lawmakers would have to find an extra $850 million in the state budget starting in 2028 to cover cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill just signed by President Donald Trump.
Alex Aghdaei, policy analyst and outreach coordinator with Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, said the bill is projected to cause an estimated 100,000 Oregonians to lose SNAP coverage by 2034.
He said policymakers will face some hard choices going forward.
“We believe that there is no other option than to find the funding,” said Aghdaei, “because our state simply cannot abandon the one-in-eight of all Oregonians that rely on this program to feed their families.”
Aghdaei added that the bill makes more people subject to a work requirement, even though 83% of Oregon Trail Card users are already employed.
It also requires people to verify their eligibility more often, and it cuts the amount the federal government reimburses for the administrative costs of SNAP.
Aghdaei said low-income families will face similar paperwork obstacles to maintain coverage under the Oregon Health Plan because of huge cuts to Medicaid.
“Make no mistake, this bill will kill,” said Aghdaei. “The level of cuts that the SNAP program will experience, in addition to Medicaid and other essential services, is frankly unheard of, and the impact in Oregon will stretch far across the state.”
The legislature just concluded its 2-year session, but lawmakers will begin to address these issues in the short session next February.
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When North Dakotans head to farmers markets this summer, they might want to see which ones accept SNAP benefits, as the state is enhancing a search tool so that those eligible can stock up on fruits and vegetables.
EBT cards distributed through SNAP are now accepted at thousands of farmers markers across the country. North Dakota’s agriculture department has updated its online Local Foods Map to indicate which locations within the state are part of the SNAP network.
Keith Knudson, executive director of the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association, said it is another way to improve access to healthy food.
“We’re seeing a lot more of those farmers markets in rural areas where we have issues with not having enough fresh vegetables in the community,” Knudson explained.
He pointed out small town grocery stores have struggled to stay open and if those new rural farmers markets accept SNAP, program recipients have a dedicated source of fresh food for the season. Knudsen note it has been hard for some operators to implement SNAP payment systems but added the program is making improvements. On the updated map, a yellow star shows which markets are SNAP sites.
EBT users visiting farmers markets can stretch their benefits further through incentives. The “Double Up” option provides a dollar-for-dollar match for purchases of fruits and vegetables, meaning low-income residents can load up without depleting their account.
Doug Goehring, North Dakota’s agriculture commissioner, hopes the feature boosts awareness and activity.
“Once they know that, maybe they’ll seek them out, and it’ll encourage more and more people to consider going down that road,” Goehring stressed.
Agriculture leaders said increased program activity not only helps the SNAP recipient but also the local vendors by expanding their customer base.
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As the budget reconciliation bill moves through the Senate, West Virginia still faces cuts to a key food support program. The House budget reconciliation proposal cut $300 billion , about 30% from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. While senators have reduced that cut by nearly one-third, it’s anticipated millions of Americans would still lose access.
More than 2,200 West Virginia retailers accept SNAP.
Caitlin Cook, director of advocacy and public policy with the Mountaineer Food Bank, said cutting this program will tend to shrink local economies.
“SNAP benefits are a lifeline in a lot of rural grocery stores,” she explained. “For every SNAP dollar, there’s a $1.50 economic impact. So, without a doubt, SNAP cuts are going to hit our state very hard because of the high level of food insecurity.”
More than 275,000 West Virginians use SNAP to help keep food on the table, which includes 94,000 kids and more than 50,000 seniors.
Reports this week indicate the Senate parliamentarian will approve a provision shifting some costs to the states. For states with a SNAP error rate above 6%, that cost could run as high as 15%. The SNAP error rate measures how accurately states determine eligibility and benefits, including overpayments and underpayments. The error rate is not a measure of fraud. Errors are typically unintentional, and many are clerical errors from state agencies. Only one state has never had an error rate above 6% since recording began in 2003. The 2023 error rate in West Virginia was nearly 11%, and Cook said introducing this variance into the system will have consequences.
“If this goes through, a person that lives across the border in Ohio may have greater access to food assistance by virtue of them living in Ohio,” Cook explained. “It is dependent on what state you live in, as to how successful their SNAP program is run.”
Currently errors are corrected, with overpayments being paid back to states, and underpayments reimbursed to households. States with a high error rate for two consecutive years are charged a penalty under current policy.
Both Senate and House versions of the bill will also reduce the federal share of administrative costs by half, pushing the state and county share of admin costs to 75%. The combined cost shift of error rate penalty and admin expense is estimated to be $84 million a year for West Virginia, with an estimated loss of 32 million meals. Both versions of the bill have expanded work requirements and reduced exemptions, with the Senate version adding work requirements for older adults 55 to 64 and parents with children over age 9.
Vince Hall, chief government relations officer with Feeding America, sees work requirements as a misguided priority.
“The vast majority of people who are able to work are working,” he said. “The bad news is that their wages, even with sometimes two full-time jobs, are so insufficient that despite how hard they are working, they are still unable to afford the basics of rent, food and health care.”
Last year SNAP injected more than $550 million into the state’s economy.
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