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PHOENIX — <\/span>Enrollment in the biggest federally funded food aid program in the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in a 12-month span \u2014 a decline far steeper than the government estimated as work requirements and other provisions of President Donald Trump’s \u201cbig beautiful bill\u201d take hold.<\/p>\n Those losing coverage in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program<\/a>, or SNAP, include people who don’t meet the tightening requirements to participate, and, advocates say, some who qualify for the help but are rejected because they miss deadlines or don’t have the needed documentation handy. It’s too early to tell exactly how many fall into each group.<\/p>\n It’s also unclear how many have lost coverage because some state agencies that run the programs are overwhelmed trying to keep up with changes. That was the case in Arizona, which saw the nation’s largest enrollment drop.<\/p>\n Tia Fields, who analyzes social safety net policies at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana, said a the main reason she’s seeing people lose coverage is not failure to meet work requirements. \u201cA lot of it is administrative paperwork,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Proponents of welfare reform hope the roll reductions are driven by people earning too much to keep qualifying \u2014 a sign that policy changes are behaving as intended for a program they assert<\/a> is riddled with fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they’re working and they’re moving forward,\u201d said Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, which pushed for stricter requirements for SNAP, \u201cthat would be a step forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Arizona has had the steepest decline so far, with a 12-month drop over more than 50%, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP. The decline was more than 20% in Georgia, Louisiana and Nevada \u2014 and in Florida, where the Department of Children and Families said in a statement that the decreasing number \u201cis reflective of the state’s strong focus on advancing opportunities for Floridians and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n SNAP helps more than 1 in 10 people in the U.S. buy food. Most of the beneficiaries have incomes below the poverty line. The monthly benefit, which is delivered on debit cards that can be used only for groceries, is $344 per household on average.<\/p>\n Newly released federal data found SNAP enrollment fell from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May, a drop of more than 13% in a year. The May data are preliminary and could be revised.<\/p>\n Since 2010, the average number of monthly beneficiaries has been below 40 million for only two years \u2014 2019 and 2020. The rolls started dropping after a recent peak of 43.3 million in October 2024. It\u2019s fallen much faster since implementation began last year for Trump\u2019s \u201cone big beautiful bill,\u201d<\/a> which cut taxes and overhauled social safety net programs.<\/p>\n The expanded SNAP work requirement has now kicked in for most of the country<\/a>, but it won\u2019t begin in some places until next year.<\/p>\n Many adults 54 and younger without minor children have long been required to work to get SNAP benefits. The new law requires most people who previously had been exempt from requirements to either work, volunteer or go to school to get benefits. It now includes those ages 55 to 64, and those with children ages 14 to 17. Those 65 and older or with children younger than 14 remain exempt, as do those with health limitations. Some other groups that had been exempted from the requirement \u2014 including homeless people \u2014 no longer are.<\/p>\n In February, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the new requirements and other factors would push SNAP enrollment down over the next decade, falling below 34 million by 2036. But the nonpartisan office did not expect the drop to be as fast as it’s been. By May, the number of people receiving the benefits was about as low as it was forecast to go in 2030.<\/p>\n Experts expect another impact when states are required to pay part of the cost of benefits<\/a> if their rate of payment errors \u2014 when recipients receive more or less than they should \u2014 is above 6%. Advocates for recipients say states may deny benefits to some people entirely rather than risk errors.<\/p>\n The cost-sharing is scheduled to start in October 2027, though Congress has considered a delay.<\/p>\n In Arizona, enrollment plummeted by 55% from April 2025 to April 2026 \u2014 the biggest drop in the country, with more than 400,000 fewer people getting benefits now.<\/p>\n The state said the drop was driven largely by the state’s own struggles putting new federal requirements in place.<\/p>\n \u201cImplementing the federally mandated changes triggered unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements, creating real barriers for applicants,\u201d said Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security.<\/p>\n Bezio said that hiring more staff members and introducing ways for people to submit their documents online have stemmed the enrollment drop in recent months as the state has reduced the chance for people who qualify to lose benefits.<\/p>\n In Phoenix, LaDiamond Lopez lost her benefits in January, with officials telling her she needed more documentation about her income and household \u2014 something that’s needed for officials to determine whether enrollees meet work requirements.<\/p>\n She\u2019s been skipping meals and some bill payments to ensure her children have enough to eat.<\/p>\n In her quest to be reinstated, she had previous employers sign forms confirming she no longer worked for them and added her children \u2014 ages 3 and 9 \u2014 to her apartment lease. She expected payments to resume in August, but she doesn\u2019t know if they\u2019ll last.<\/p>\n \u201cI was approved at the end of May, but now they\u2019re asking me for more documents,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a panic.\u201d<\/p>\n The Heritage Foundation’s Sheffield says that some of the drop in SNAP use is likely a natural decline after peaks in the coronavirus pandemic era.<\/p>\n Paco Velez, the president and CEO of Feeding South Florida, said the 22% one-year enrollment drop in Florida is driven partly by immigrants who are in the U.S. legally but fear being targeted by Trump’s immigration crackdown if they’re seeking government benefits.<\/p>\n Invest in Louisiana’s Fields said SNAP enrollment declines have broader consequences. For instance, children in households that receive the benefit can be automatically enrolled in free school lunch programs or in the SNAP for Women, Infants and Children program for low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents if they meet the other criteria.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens when that child can\u2019t pay for lunch?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Some food banks<\/a> have ramped up donations to try to meet a demand that they say has risen as SNAP rolls have declined. But that isn’t expected to bridge the gap fully.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very worried about it because we know that no other organization or program can replicate the scale and success of SNAP, \u201d said Carolyn Vega, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Share Our Strength. \u201cWe know that schools can\u2019t fill this gap. We know that food banks can\u2019t fill this gap.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Schuettler is a corps member for The Associated Press\/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America<\/a> is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n