Federal cuts to SNAP in 2025 — including a $186 billion reduction and stricter work requirements — threaten the food security of 41.7 million Americans. New rules raise the exemption age to 64 and remove protections for veterans, people experiencing houselessness, former foster youth, and many immigrants. Researchers warn that reduced benefits and employment barriers will force vulnerable people into physically demanding jobs while they remain undernourished. The authors urge state and local governments to fund partial SNAP costs, provide application assistance, and form public-private task forces to protect food access.
SNAP Cuts Threaten 41.7 Million: New Work Rules Will Leave Millions Overworked and Undernourished
The year 2025 proved turbulent for the 41.7 million Americans who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy food. Although benefits were temporarily restored after the government shutdown, newly enacted federal budget reductions and stricter work rules mean hardships will persist into the new year.
What Changed
In the summer, Congress passed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which reduced SNAP funding by $186 billion — the largest cut in the program’s history. The law also tightens work requirements that determine who qualifies for SNAP and for how long. Households that fail to meet the new work conditions will lose benefits the next time their eligibility is recertified, a process that occurs every six to 12 months.
Who Is Most Affected
Before Dec. 1, SNAP work exemptions included non-disabled adults over 54, veterans, people experiencing houselessness, and youth aging out of foster care. The new rules raise the age threshold to 64 while removing these other exemptions. The legislation also bars many immigrants — including refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking — from receiving SNAP.
These changes target groups that already face high levels of food insecurity. Recent research indicates approximately 13% of older adults, 57% of unhoused adults, 69% of former foster youth, and 18% of immigrants report daily hunger. Compounding the crisis, federal cuts to charitable food-program funding have left emergency food providers struggling to meet rising demand.
Why This Matters
Lower SNAP benefits and loss of eligibility have direct consequences for health and economic stability. Studies show reduced benefit amounts lead to skipped meals and lower consumption of nutrient-rich foods. Many affected people also face discrimination and structural barriers in the labor market: older adults may have age-related physical limitations, unhoused individuals often lack access to job-search resources, and veterans and former foster youth can face disproportionate mental-health obstacles.
When employment is available, low-income workers are disproportionately funneled into physically demanding jobs — agriculture, construction, manufacturing — that require higher caloric intake and hydration. Cutting nutrition supports while pushing people into strenuous labor creates a dangerous dynamic: workers who are both overworked and undernourished are at higher risk for injury, chronic illness, and long-term economic harm.
Depriving people of nutrition while demanding physical labor is both harmful and avoidable.
Practical Steps States and Cities Can Take
While federal policy has shifted, state and local governments can act to reduce harm. Options include:
- Appropriating state or local funds to offset some SNAP shortfalls as federal support is cut;
- Providing hands-on application and recertification assistance so people can navigate increasingly complex eligibility rules (for example, New York’s Nutrition Outreach and Education Program helps applicants complete SNAP forms);
- Replicating public-private models like Massachusetts’ Anti-Hunger Task Force, which brings together local officials, food banks, nonprofits, farmers, small businesses, and SNAP recipients to build immediate and long-term solutions.
Conclusion
Food is a human right, not a privilege. Without prompt local and state action, millions of Americans risk being pushed into a cycle of food insecurity and economic instability that will harm public health and community resilience.
Pasquale E. Rummo, MPH, PhD, is an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who studies the impact of food policy and healthy-eating interventions on nutrition-related health outcomes. Jesse Strunk Elkins, MPH, is a physical activity researcher and a PhD student in Public Health Sciences at Charlotte.
