Fewer Americans are getting help buying groceries from SNAP benefits as states grapple with the program’s cascade of changes

Some of these changes have already taken effect. Others that are a year or more away could make it hard for some states to keep participating in the program at all.

By: Tracy Roof, University of Richmond, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: October 5, 2026

Words: 1,442

Last Updated: 1 week, 4 days ago

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By Tracy Roof, University of Richmond

The number of people enrolled in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program is falling fast. The program formerly known as food stamps helped roughly 42 million Americans put food on the table in 2025.

As of June 2026, the most recent data available, the number of people enrolled in the program in the whole country had declined by almost 13% to 36.4 million. Among those no longer getting benefits …

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