Enrollment in the nation’s largest federal food assistance program has tumbled by more than 13% over the past year, a decline that is significantly steeper than federal projections as new work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s sweeping social policy overhaul take effect.
New data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fell from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026, a drop of roughly 5.6 million people. The figures are preliminary and could be revised, but they already mark the lowest monthly enrollment since 2020, when the pandemic-era expansion was still winding down.
The decline is being driven by a mix of factors: stricter eligibility rules that disqualify some recipients, and, according to advocates, a wave of administrative barriers that are causing eligible low-income families to lose benefits. In Arizona, which saw the steepest drop in the country, state officials acknowledged that their own struggles implementing the federal changes contributed to the losses.
“A lot of it is administrative paperwork,” said Tia Fields, who analyzes social safety net policies at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana. She said that in her state, most people losing coverage are not being cut for failing to meet work requirements but because they miss deadlines or lack the necessary documentation.
Conservative proponents of the tighter rules, however, argue that the roll reductions are a sign of success, suggesting that more people are leaving the program because they are earning enough to no longer qualify. “If there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they’re working and they’re moving forward, that would be a step forward,” said Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, which pushed for stricter SNAP requirements.
The new work requirements, part of the “one big beautiful bill” signed into law last year, now apply to most adults aged 55 to 64 and to those with children aged 14 to 17. Previously, many of these groups were exempt. The rules also removed exemptions for homeless individuals, though those 65 and older and those with children under 14 remain exempt, as do people with health limitations.
The Congressional Budget Office had projected that enrollment would gradually decline over the next decade, falling below 34 million by 2036. But the actual pace has been far faster: by May, enrollment had already reached levels the CBO did not expect until 2030. Experts say another factor could accelerate the drop in coming years: a provision that will require states to share the cost of benefits if their payment error rates exceed 6%. That cost-sharing is set to begin in October 2027, though Congress has considered delaying it.
In Arizona, enrollment plummeted by 55% between April 2025 and April 2026, a loss of more than 400,000 beneficiaries, the largest in the nation. State officials said the drop was largely due to their own difficulties implementing the federal changes, which triggered “unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements,” according to Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Bezio said the state has since hired more staff and introduced online document submission, which has helped stem the decline.
For some, the loss of benefits has been devastating. LaDiamond Lopez, a Phoenix mother, lost her SNAP coverage in January after officials demanded more documentation about her income and household. She said she has been skipping meals and delaying bill payments to ensure her children have enough to eat. She is now fighting to get reinstated.
The enrollment drop has been particularly sharp in Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, and Florida, where state officials framed the decline as a positive outcome. In a statement, Florida’s Department of Children and Families said the decrease “is reflective of the state’s strong focus on advancing opportunities for Floridians and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.”
As the new rules continue to roll out in some states, the full impact on the nation’s food-insecure population remains unclear. But the sharp and unexpected decline has already raised alarms among anti-hunger advocates, who warn that administrative failures are leaving vulnerable families without a critical safety net. Automatic enrollment for foster kids is one idea that has been floated to help protect some of the most vulnerable groups, while immigration policy changes could also affect eligibility. Meanwhile, other federal programs are facing their own scrutiny, but for now, the focus remains on how the administration’s welfare overhaul is reshaping who gets help.
