[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:24] Speaker B: In July 2025, Congress passed the Working Families Tax Cuts, a sweeping federal law that fundamentally changed the landscape of the nation's social safety net, including major changes to both SNAP and Medicaid.
While the law was passed last year, many of its most significant provisions are only now being implemented. Others will not take effect until 2027 and beyond. That means we are still in the early stages of understanding what these changes will mean for families, states, retailers and the programs themselves. And a lot has already happened.
SNAP participation has fallen sharply since the law was enacted. As of May 2026, the last month where there is data for all 50 states, roughly 5 million fewer people were participating in SNAP than in July of 2025, with participation declining in every state except Alaska.
National SNAP participation has now fallen below its pre pandemic level and reached its lowest point in 17 years in Ohio. We are seeing that decline play out here at home as well. At the same time, states and local agencies are navigating a complicated series of new eligibility requirements, administrative responsibilities, financing changes and operational challenges.
The result is a SNAP landscape that looks very different than it did just a year ago and will continue to change over the next several years.
In this episode of Just a Bite, Hope sits down with Ashley from Share Our Strength and no kid hungry to unpack what has changed in SNAP since the Working Families Task tax cuts became law and perhaps just as importantly, what is still to come. We'll start with the changes that are already affecting snap, including the expansion of SNAP work requirements and significant changes to how the program is financed. We'll also look beyond the Working Families tax cuts at other recent changes to snap, including new stocking requirements that will affect SNAP authorized retailers. But this conversation isn't just about policy. It's about what these changes actually mean for people who rely on snap.
We'll talk about what families need to know as new requirements and policies take effect, how people can stay informed about changes to their benefits, and what resources are available to help families navigate the system if they lose access to snap. There's a lot happening in SNAP right now, and a lot more still ahead. This episode is designed to help make sense of it all. As always, you can check out our show notes for this episode and all
[email protected] JustABite Again, this is your host, Hope, with just a Bite, hosted by the Ohio association of Food Banks. Thanks for joining us. Get Started.
Hello and welcome to Just a Bite. I'm Hope and Gavin, Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs with the Ohio association of food banks and I'll be your host today. Today I'm joined by Ashley Rodebush, Senior Manager, Benefits Access with Sharer Strength. Ashley, thank you for being here today.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: Thanks for having me. Hope.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Before we dive into today's topic, can you tell our listeners a little bit about yourself, your role and the work of Share Our Strength or any else fun you want to share like your cats?
[00:03:27] Speaker A: Yes, my name is Ashley. Like you said, I'm a senior manager at Benefits Access at Share Our Strength. I'm a Columbus resident and I do live here with my partner and two cats, Newt and Luna.
I've been at Sharer Strength in a few different roles over the last couple of years, but most recently sit on our center for Best Practices team where we focus on best practices to support agencies and partners for increasing access and improving implementation of benefits programs such as SNAP and Summer ebt.
Share A Strength is a national anti hunger organizations that's dedicated to ending childhood hunger. We're helping communities feed children with our no Get Hungry campaign and addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Perfect.
So before we get into the details today, I want to frame this conversation for listeners.
SNAP is a program that many people know by name, so the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or snap.
But the rules can be complicated even before four major changes. So for this first segment we're going to slow down, define the key changes and talk about why they matter for households and communities.
So to start us off, can you give listeners the big picture roadmap of what changed for SNAP under the working families tax cuts, otherwise known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, HR1 Reconciliation. There's all of those words all mean the same thing. But I, I've been using working families tax cuts lately so we're going to go with that.
And I know that's big, ask Ashley. It's a huge bill, Huge, huge bill. But I'd just like to just level set for folks.
So let's try to begin with eligibility who may now have a harder time qualifying or no longer qualifying for benefits. What new requirements are states responsible for implementing and what should families expect as those rules take effect?
[00:05:16] Speaker A: Yeah, great question, Hope, and definitely a big question since there's a lot of different components here. So snap, like you said, is our nation's most effective and largest anti hunger program. And with the passage of the working families tax cuts, it's facing the largest cut in program history for families. They'll see a handful of new or changing requirements for how they qualify for the program. There's new work requirements for adults with children 14 and older as well as increasing the age for our older participants on snap up to 64. And there's further restrictions for some non citizens that are lawfully present in the United States that now make them ineligible for participating.
And for states that are responsible for overseeing the administration of snap, there's two main changes. First being the change in the administrative cost share which used to be 5050 between the state and the federal government and what was covered and is shifting to the state being responsible for 75% of the administrative costs. And two, the benefit cost shift which in future years will require many states to cover a portion of SNAP benefits for the first time ever based on their payment error rate. This last change is a massive, massive change to the program's structure. Structure and has really deep implications.
[00:06:28] Speaker B: Yeah, that's perfect. One change listeners may hear a lot about is the SNAP time limit which is tied to work requirements. We've talked on this show before a bit about the SNAP time limit, but this segment is all about level setting. So I want to make sure we start there. The snap time limit relates to the SNAP work requirement and that individuals subject to work. In Ohio those folks are called the abled bodied adults or ABAs. In other states they can be called something different but similar. Are entitled to three months of SNAP benefits every 36 months or three years before they either need to prove they are exempt from the time limit or need to provide proof of work to continue receiving benefits. Can you talk about how the working families tax cuts change the landscape of the time limit and how the expanded work requirements are changing the experience for people trying to keep their benefits?
[00:07:20] Speaker A: Yeah, so the landscape's changed in a few different ways. So under the working families tax cuts it's changed for one, adults in households caring for children ages 14 to 17 who may have been previously exempted from these requirements are now required to meet work requirements.
This is different from regular work registrants, but important distinction there.
Next is seniors up to age 64 are now subject to work reporting requirements and the 36 month time limit.
And after HR1, some of our most vulnerable neighbors are no longer exempt from extra requirements. So that includes people facing experiencing homelessness. Veterans and former foster youth now are also subject to that time limit.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Yeah, so we've talked about the rules themselves. I want to turn now to the people behind those rules because policy changes can sound abstract until we understand how they show up in the real world.
So we've talked about what the law says. You've articulated that beautifully. But what are the numbers telling us?
I've dug into Ohio's pre and post working families tax cuts, SNAP data.
So we're talking July 2025 as our baseline and that was when of course, the bill was passed and July 2026 for our now. So let's use that 12 month period for context.
As far as the latest data available, it reveals Ohio alone is down about 135,000 individuals receiving SNAP, or just under 10% of our previous total SNAP caseload.
I think what's most concerning, however, is that of those 135,000 individuals who have lost access to the program, just under half or about 60,000 are children who have not had any eligibility changes in the bill at all. You've talked graciously today about like the changes and what they've meant for older adults and what they have meant for our immigrant neighbors and so many other folks. But you've never said like, okay, so children are now not eligible. Right. So what are you seeing nationally and how is Ohio measuring up?
[00:09:29] Speaker A: Yeah, so nationally we're seeing astronomical impact since July 2025 on staff participation. Our friends at the center on Budget and Policy Priorities are doing an incredible job tracking this data and reporting it so advocates can illustrate the impact that has been happening.
We know that like as of Most recently, roughly 5 million people have lost access to SNAP where this data is available. And we know that it includes at least 1.5 million children across 28 states where this data is available. So far it's incredibly worrisome and is much higher than what was predicted when the bill was passed.
And I think overall it's important to also note that we've reached our lowest point in 17 years with Snap participation falling below the pre pandemic level of nearly 37 million participants in early 2020.
So, and then I also want to mention that it's the timelines for implementation are incredibly varied across states. So Ohio's falling among similar trends as many other states haven't experienced the most dramatic declines as we've seen in a few places, but they're almost at about kind of average. But I think it's worth noting with all of that that we might not also be seeing the full impact yet in Ohio because of when different implementation timelines are happening across places.
[00:10:46] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for sharing that. That's all really helpful context, particularly about like implementation timelines being different.
And I honestly think, and maybe this is just me, but I think in many ways Ohio has been spared, if you will, in quotation marks, spared the Worst of it, given that we in Ohio have always implemented work requirements in.
But still, seeing the caseload drop by 10% and unemployment drop by less than 1% in the same timeframe demonstrates need is not necessarily driving this decline.
So what do you suggest individuals and families do who are uncertain about their ongoing eligibility?
Where should they turn for the most accurate and up to date information?
And what about families who are struggling but are trying to determine if it's even worth applying for help at this stage? Seeing these headlines and hearing this data,
[00:11:35] Speaker A: I would say the first stop would be local SNAP offices in local county.
JFS offices are the most up to date and accurate place for people to get information in most states. Also, I know in Ohio this is true, that there's great community partners and application assistors that can support individuals and families with their individual circumstances to help them determine if their status or situation has changed based on the new parameters that are being followed.
I think broadly we know there's an affordability crisis right now and families are really struggling to pay for food.
As a program, I would say that SNAP is there to support individuals and families with grocery benefits and we'd still very much encourage people that could use this benefit to do so as inflation and costs continue to rise. Someone receiving SNAP doesn't mean that someone else isn't. And anyone that's eligible to receive benefits should do that. Which is why, you know, this is why we see the program kind of shrink and expand based on the economy, because it is meant to, to be there as a support for families when they need it most.
[00:12:35] Speaker B: Yeah, thanks for, thanks for underscoring that. So you're saying, like, even with all of these changes, like, people are still getting approved, like people who are eligible for benefits are still being approved for benefits. It's not like they've like stopped taking applications?
[00:12:46] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: Yeah, that's a really good point. Thanks for, thanks for, thanks for that.
So let's dig a little bit deeper. This brings us to another really significant piece of the story. October 1st.
A lot of conversation about the working families tax cuts has focused on eligibility and worker requirements, rightfully so. But there's another major change happening behind the scenes. The way SNAP is financed. And I know you alluded to this earlier, so beginning October 1st, states, and in Ohio's case, counties, are taking on new responsibility for the administrative costs of operating snap. And over the next several years, states may also become responsible for a portion of the cost of SNAP benefits themselves for the first time in history.
So for listeners, that can sound Like a pretty technical budget issue, but it really isn't just a budget issue. It raises some important questions about what happens to SNAP Access when states and counties are being asked to absorb significantly more responsibility for a program that serves millions of people each and every month. So can you walk us through in a little bit more detail than you did earlier, what changes on October 1st? Tell me what an administrative cost is. Like, what does that mean for like a participant?
[00:13:54] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean it's basically if you think about like what the cost to like administer the program for like a lack of a better term, so like the staffing costs and like what it costs to rent the office buildings and like what it costs to just operate the program, not even just the benefits themselves being administered, but that like, cost of like what's the baseline to keep this program operational in a state?
So it used to be 50, 50 that was covered. So the state has always had some quote, unquote, skin in the game around making sure and helping support with the administrative costs. But it's shifting to being 75% to 25% coverage, which, you know, a 25% shift. It still sounds drastic, but I think when you also like quantify what that means, it really stands out. So like, we are talking about like tens of millions of dollars in additional money that the state now has to allocate towards operating the program in Ohio alone.
So I think it's important to just kind of underscore that of like it results in a lot of extra dollars, both to administer, but also then to figure out how does this change actually go into effect in the state? And like, how do both at the state agency level, but also at the county level, do they make sure that they have the funds available to be able to make up the difference of that cost of what it's going to now take them to operate SNAP in Ohio.
[00:15:23] Speaker B: And just so we're all clear, like this has never been the case. Like the, this financing change is completely new. So it's not like states can look at like, okay, in 1992, how did we figure this out? Like, this is completely new. Is that right?
[00:15:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Cool.
[00:15:39] Speaker B: So, yeah, that's really helpful. So in Ohio's terms, since we are one of just a few county administered states, I believe we're one of 10.
What does this mean for us?
[00:15:47] Speaker A: Yeah, So I was one of 10 county administered states across the country. Meaning that ultimately part of the cost share that states are required to pay under this change is going to be the responsibility of the counties to cover.
So you know, we know that a little bit earlier in the spring of this year that the state legislature passed an appropriation that supports some of the county funding that's needed to cover those costs. But it only really just starts to address the shortfall. And the reality is, is that it'll be really hard to make up the difference in many counties. That. And we're kind of starting to see that there's real trade offs that have to be made at the county level to align their budgets. And a lot of counties are still actually trying to figure out, like, how do we make it happen to be able to address this, this difference in funding that's available to them.
[00:16:37] Speaker B: So now I'm asking you to look into your crystal ball a bit. But ultimately, how might these changes in particular, and so not the eligibility changes, but having, you know, potentially less people at the county SNAP offices, potentially less offices themselves, the buildings themselves, potentially less people on the phones or different phone system that might be cheaper, etc. So how might those changes affect someone's ability to apply for or maintain snap?
[00:17:05] Speaker A: Yes, definitely a crystal ball question. And there's a lot of like, nuances and some of my thoughts here because part of it is the uncertainty that we just don't exactly know what the full impact of this might be and the trade offs that might have to be made at state and county levels and what that effect will be on individuals and families that are applying for or trying to maintain their benefits.
The steep decline in SNAP participation that we're seeing across the country are really worrisome because they really just don't add up to or match up to the economic reality that families are facing. And that's before all of this starts to happen with the cost shift. And some of these continued, like what we're worried about with the continued health and accessibility of SNAP at the state level.
And we've seen some early indicators that show that budget cuts in counties are having to make really difficult decisions about how they budget and how they staff and how they implement the program.
And so we see that families are maybe having to wait longer on hold to get through to a caseworker or maybe how quickly some of their changes that they're reporting on their case are getting processed or just how long their initial application takes to be processed. And that really also just might vary depending on where they live and what their county circumstances is. So it's also creating this inequity depending on where a person lives and where they're applying for SNAP to or where they're receiving snap.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: You're listening to Just a Bite. I'm hopefully and Gavin Director of Nutrition Policy and Programs with the Ohio association of Food Banks. And I'm hosting today's episode all about SNAP changes you need to know.
So in addition to everything we've discussed, SNAP is also facing significant, significant changes at the state and federal levels. Several states have implemented or are considering restrictions on what people can purchase with SNAP benefits. How might those policies affect the program's accessibility, consistency and reliability for families, particularly when the rules differ from one state to another?
[00:19:01] Speaker A: Well, there's so many ripple effects on those restrictions and limiting access, but in most cases we're talking about limiting participation and also how that further impacts local economies.
It's important to emphasize at the start that snap, without any additional restrictions, is already focused on supporting the purchase of healthy and eligible foods. And many states, like Ohio, also have additional incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks that give extra incentives for purchasing fresh food, fruits and veggies.
But yeah, we're seeing a lot of waiver requests as a growing trend across the country, though I do need to note that they're currently on hold at the federal level. But we worry that continually restricting access will one limit the autonomy and the ability for participants to purchase items that they and their families know they can eat. And to be incredibly confusing for participants to navigate with what is and isn't covered both just in the restrictions themselves, but also if they live in a border county and they do their shopping in different states that aren't necessarily the one that they live in, and the rules being different in one state to another could impact how they or what they might be able to purchase.
Ultimately, restricting food choice doesn't help with the affordability of food, and it's an important one to underscore.
I think another significant group involved in how these policies ultimately interact with families is our grocers and our retailers groups. Ultimately, they're the ones that have to update their own policies and their internal systems to comply with SNAP regulations in states and have to have their workers enforce those changes.
And I think we all know that the absolute last thing everyone wants in this situation is for SNAP participants to find out something they have are trying to purchase isn't allowable at the cash register. And you know, having different restrictions state to state and like changing restrictions makes that a real possibility of happening.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Yeah, you make a really important point about retailers being able to manage both a loss and SNAP caseload, but and what people are able to buy at the exact same time. So all of these changes are going to affect at end, the same, around the same time. And as you shared, many of the SNAP purchasing restrictions stuff is on hold for now, but we're yet to be seen.
But there's some other stuff coming down the pike for, for SNAP and retailer. So this fall, SNAP stocking requirements for authorized retailers are also changing, generally requiring retailers to stock more variety in each food category to continue being able to accept benefits.
How might this impact food access? I know you're not a grocer, but there's a lot of, a lot of thoughts here around, you know, a lot of, a lot of folks are scared around like, you know, people being able to maintain that stock. The SNAP authorized retailer status.
[00:21:54] Speaker A: Yeah. So for the stocking requirement, just like the waiver restrictions that were just mentioned, you know, require additional, you know, changes at the local level or at grocer's and retailers level, the requirements make it both harder for some stores to continue to meet requirements as a SNAP retailer and or affect their choices about complying with the SNAP requirements and figuring out if it's worth their time and their effort for the store that they're running.
What this means ultimately is that some stores could stop being SNAP retailers. And it means that, you know, participants that are on SNAP that may live, you know, within that close vicinity, they might not no longer have a local place or a convenient place where they can shop for food using their SNAP benefits.
Ultimately, I think if we're a tie, like the tie between them between food restrictions and stocking requirements, ultimately the impact is that it does not support the accessibility of the program and it limits where people can can shop, especially in food deserts and places where it's already challenging to be able to for families to go and shop for their grocery needs.
[00:23:04] Speaker B: So, so many changes happening at once and so much attention on the rules and restrictions. What do you wish more people understood about the role SNAP plays in helping families access food and supporting communities?
[00:23:16] Speaker A: Yeah, SNAP is making a lot of headlines right now and it really is hard to keep the right message centered within all these conversations.
I think with affordability at the top of so many people's minds, I think I wish that more people understood what SNAP is at its core share of strength did a national survey that found that one in three moms living on low incomes are taking on debt and delaying bills payments like rent to keep their kids fed. SNAP is meant to help families through moments like this. And it's our country's most effective anti hunger program that works in coordination with other incredible support options to help millions of Americans have enough to eat when times are tough.
And to reiterate, it's available for all who qualify.
It doesn't impact anybody else's ability to be able to receive benefits. So I think that's the ultimate message that I hope and wish was getting kind of across in the midst of all of these changing requirements and the kind of bureaucracy and red tape that is circling all the other administrative costs in the Benecovsh benefit cost share discussion.
[00:24:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I totally agree, Ashley. A lot of people are like, we get this kind of a lot where people are like, why are, why are food banks so invested in snap? Right? And so we always like to underscore like there's no food bank in the world that can replace snap. That's not what we were meant to do. That's not what we have capacity to do.
You know, for so many reasons, that's not how any of the this works. So totally agree.
SNAP is by far without a doubt the most important anti hunger program and most effective anti hunger program in this country. And it's just so important that it survives for lack of better words. So, Ashley, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing your expertise. Before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like listeners to know or any final thoughts you'd like to listen? Leave us with.
[00:25:14] Speaker A: Yeah, I think I'll just say that SNAP plays such a critical role and we're really only starting to see the extent of how these changes from the working families tax cuts will, will impact those that are participating in the SNAP program.
I will just make a plug that at the national level, we are, you know, still actively pursuing a delay in the cost shift for the benefit cost share to try to lessen the impact and to give states more time to address the payment error rate and to shift that kind of discussion and to make this a more realistic thing for states to implement.
But I think for right now, I appreciate you Hope, and the work that you all are doing with association of Food Banks and more broadly as an advocate to keep participants centered in all the conversation around this bill and here in Ohio and how we're seeing it negatively impact at all levels of this work. So thank you.
[00:26:14] Speaker B: Thank you for listening to Just A Bite. For resources mentioned in Today's episode, visit ohiofoodbanks.org Just a Bite and check the show notes for additional information.
If you've enjoyed today's conversation, please subscribe to the podcast, share this show with your network and join us next time for another discussion on issues impacting food and nutrition security in Ohio. Until next time, take care.
