Key Takeaways
Monthly SNAP participation fell from about 42 million people to 37 million between July 2025 and April 2026, an 11 percent drop, according to preliminary USDA data and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
CBPP counted more than 1 million children losing benefits across just the 19 states that report child data, and Arizona's rolls are roughly half the size they were a year ago.
In October the federal share of SNAP administrative costs drops from 50 percent to 25 percent, states with high error rates start owing benefit costs in 2027, and some states say they may narrow eligibility or leave the program.
More than 4 million Americans stopped receiving SNAP benefits between last July and April, according to preliminary Agriculture Department data reported by NPR on Monday. Average monthly participation fell from about 42 million people, roughly 1 in 8 Americans, to 37 million over the first nine months of the largest overhaul in the program's history.
The steepest declines hit Arizona, Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma. Arizona's enrollment is about half what it was a year ago, down more than 400,000 participants, and the Arizona Food Bank Network reports that for the first time more Arizonans visit food banks each month than are enrolled in SNAP. Across the 19 states that report child data, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities counted more than 1 million children who lost benefits.
The drop follows last summer's tax and spending law, which extended 80-hour monthly work requirements to veterans, homeless individuals, young adults leaving foster care, parents of teens, and adults up to 64. The Congressional Budget Office expects work requirements alone to cut average monthly participation by 2.4 million people over a decade. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has argued the decline partly reflects a better economy and ineligible recipients coming off the rolls. CBPP analysts counter that unemployment has stayed flat while food prices keep rising, and that state paperwork backlogs are pushing eligible families out.
The harder changes are still ahead. In October, states pick up 75 percent of administrative costs, up from 50. In 2027, states with error rates at or above 6 percent start paying a share of benefits themselves, and nearly half of states could each owe $100 million or more. In one national survey, 29 percent of states said they may narrow eligibility and 11 percent said they may withdraw or pause the program entirely. "There's no replacement for SNAP if a state gets rid of it," Starsky Wilson, president of the Children's Defense Fund, told NPR.
The numbers land in a week when benefit programs are already in the courts, from the 24-state lawsuit over sharing TANF recipients' personal data with DHS to the DOJ's $350 million Southeast fraud sweep built partly on SNAP schemes.
People Also Ask
Why are people losing SNAP benefits in 2026?
Expanded work requirements, new eligibility limits for certain immigrants, and state paperwork backlogs have all cut participation since the One Big Beautiful Bill Act became law in July 2025.
How many people are on SNAP right now?
About 37 million people as of April 2026, according to preliminary USDA data, down from an average of 42 million per month a year earlier.
What SNAP changes start in October 2026?
The federal government's share of SNAP administrative costs falls from 50 percent to 25 percent, leaving states to cover the remaining 75 percent of operational expenses.
Can a state really drop out of SNAP?
Yes. In a recent survey, 11 percent of responding states said they may withdraw from or pause the program if the new costs become too heavy, and no federal program exists to replace it.