In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, an average of 41.7 million people received SNAP (aka food stamp) benefits each month, which represents approximately 12.3% of the total U.S. population .
Children account for a significant portion of SNAP participants, with about 40% of all participants being under 18 in FY 2022. According to data from FY 2022, approximately 20% of all U.S. children under the age of 18 were in families that received SNAP benefits. This accounted for about 14.4 million out of the total child population of 73.3 million. Households with children are more likely to participate in SNAP, with 19.1% of all households with children participating in 2023, compared to 9.4% without children.
Given the huge proportion of the population dependent on SNAP it is a truly Macroeconomic issue.
A New Era of Hunger Has Begun
By Tracy Kidder, The New York Times, 7/14/2025
…
Among other things, the [OBBBA] law begins to dismember the federal program once known as food stamps, now known, in an age of prolixity, as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The program distributes money for food — an average of $187 a month per person. …
Cutting SNAP will dramatically increase the pressure on food banks. …According to Feeding America, which oversees food banks across the country, SNAP provides nine times more food than all of its 200 food banks combined. Moreover, because SNAP money goes mainly to people who live in urgent need, the funds are quickly spent, injecting economic activity into local economies. Each $1 in SNAP benefits adds as much as $1.50 to the country’s gross domestic product, a helpful buffer during economic downturns and recessions…
The problem isn’t new, but the [OBBBA] domestic policy act will make things worse. According to the Congressional Budget Office, more than two million people will lose their SNAP benefits. At the same time, the law’s changes to Medicaid will save about $1 trillion over 10 years…adding 11.8 million Americans to the 26 million who currently lack health insurance.
In all, the new domestic policy law will take about $1.2 trillion from social programs over the next decade… [end quote]
According to Google Gemini, the OBBBA act:
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, significantly impacts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in several ways:
Impact of OBBBA on SNAP:
Funding Cuts: OBBBA is projected to reduce SNAP costs by approximately $186 billion from 2025-2034. These cuts are expected to start at 7% in 2026 and climb to a 24% reduction in 2034, with an annual average of 18% over the 10-year period.
Expanded Work Requirements: The bill expands SNAP work requirements to include able-bodied adults up to age 64 (previously 54) and those with dependents aged 14 and up. It also limits the ability of individual states to waive these work rules, and removes previous exemptions for veterans, former foster youth, and people experiencing homelessness. This is expected to result in 2 million to 2.9 million fewer participants.
Shifted Costs to States: For 60 years, the federal government has fully funded SNAP benefits. For the first time, starting in 2028, states will be required to pay a share of SNAP benefit costs if their payment error rate exceeds 6% (ranging from 5% to 15% depending on the error rate). Additionally, beginning in FY 2027, the federal contribution to SNAP administrative costs will be reduced from 50% to 25%, shifting 75% of the burden to state and local governments.
Limits on Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) Adjustments: The bill restricts future updates to the TFP (used to set SNAP benefit levels) to adjust only for inflation. This means the government will have no flexibility to adjust benefits based on rising food prices, consumption patterns, or changes in dietary guidance, potentially leading to a decrease in purchasing power of SNAP benefits over time (estimated average reduction of $15 per month per participant by 2034).
Exclusion of Refugees and Asylum-Seekers: OBBBA explicitly prohibits refugees and asylum-seekers from accessing SNAP benefits. [end quote]
The reduction in SNAP benefits will have a short-term impact on the economy since this transfer payment will reduce fiscal stimulus.
The longer-term impact on the labor force will play out over many years as 1/5 of the children in the country will grow up with greater food insecurity, affecting their ability to learn in school.
Both politics and religion are banned on METAR. Both would have a lot to say about a law where food is taken out of the mouths of hungry children to fund tax cuts for the rich.
Wendy