: [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION Aug. 3, 2026: This story incorrectly says that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins talked about the decline in SNAP participation on Fox Business in May. It happened in late April.]
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Over 4 million people are estimated to have lost SNAP food benefits since last July when President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law. Many of those affected are children. That's according to emerging data. To talk about the numbers and how we got here, we're joined now by NPR's Juliana Kim. Hey there.
JULIANA KIM, BYLINE: Hi there.
SUMMERS: Juliana, for starters, just what are we seeing happening with SNAP now?
KIM: So in less than a year, we've seen a consistent and rapid drop in SNAP participation. That's according to the Agriculture Department, which released preliminary data on this up to April. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a left-leaning think tank that's been following the numbers closely, and according to the group, nearly every state has seen declines, from a few thousand in New Hampshire to roughly half a million in Texas. The center also looked at 19 states that provided data on the number of children who rely on SNAP. It found that in those states alone, about 1 million fewer children are receiving the federal food aid compared to last July.
SUMMERS: Walk us through, if you can, what exactly is different now with SNAP?
KIM: Last year's law expanded work requirements and reduced federal funding. New penalties are also pushing states to place much more scrutiny on applicants to prevent errors. For all of these reasons, Katie Bergh with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says, SNAP recipients are having a harder time accessing benefits.
KATIE BERGH: People are calling and calling, and they can't get through to anyone, or they're being asked for more and more and more documentation of every aspect of their lives, and maybe they don't have a way to document everything.
KIM: That documentation varies based on applicant, but it can range from pay stubs to childcare costs.
SUMMERS: What have you heard from the Trump administration about this drop in participation?
KIM: In a statement, the USDA told NPR that SNAP participation fluctuates and the drop isn't representative of any one policy. You know, the White House also told NPR that these changes are making the program more sustainable by cracking down on waste and fraud. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins talked about this on Fox Business back in May.
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BROOKE ROLLINS: A lot of it is people taking the program that shouldn't have been, and then a lot of it is just a better economy.
KIM: Not everyone agrees with this assessment. You know, Bergh points out that unemployment has largely stayed flat, while food prices have continued to go up over the past year. So she's more skeptical that the need for SNAP has gone down.
SUMMERS: And what about communities? What are you hearing from communities about these changes?
KIM: I want to focus on Arizona, where SNAP enrollment is about half the size it was a year ago. That's over 400,000 fewer recipients. I spoke to Milt Liu, who's the president of St. Mary's Food Bank, which operates across the state. And he says his group is distributing more food than ever. And it's not just because people are losing their benefits. He says people are struggling to keep up with rising costs of groceries, gas and housing. Local officials across the country are also concerned.
You know, on Monday, a bipartisan group of over 200 mayors sent a letter to the Senate Agriculture Committee asking lawyers - lawmakers to reverse or delay some of the changes and cuts to SNAP.
SUMMERS: NPR's Juliana Kim. Thanks.
KIM: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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