Overview
- Federal SNAP payments resumed after November’s shutdown, with program funding now secured through September 2026.
- USDA is pressing states to turn over detailed recipient data, including immigration-related information, and a judge temporarily blocked the demand after 22 Democratic-led states objected on privacy grounds.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Dec. 2 that the administration will begin withholding SNAP dollars from noncompliant states until they provide the requested data.
- Expanded work requirements are slated to start in March, requiring certain adults to document up to 80 hours a month of work, school, or volunteering or risk losing benefits after three months, though New York retains a waiver delaying its local rollout.
- Independent analyses project roughly $187 billion in SNAP reductions over the next decade and about 4 million people facing benefit cuts or loss, while food banks report surging demand, including a 40% jump in New Mexico during the shutdown period.