13% of SNAP Enrollees Lost Coverage in One Year, USDA Data Show

Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fell from 41.6 million people in July 2025 to 36.5 million in June 2026, a 13% decline, according to US Department of Agriculture data cited by The Guardian. The drop followed new work requirements imposed under the One Big Beautiful Act.

The USDA administers SNAP, commonly known as food stamps, and reported the enrollment figures as the agency's latest available data. The decline covers the roughly 11-month period after the law's eligibility changes took hold, the Guardian reported.

How Much Has SNAP Enrollment Dropped?

The figures come from USDA enrollment data and a Congressional Budget Office projection, both cited in the Guardian's reporting. No county- or state-level breakdown was included in the available source material.

What Caused the Decline?

The One Big Beautiful Act expanded who must meet SNAP work requirements to keep benefits. Previously, only able-bodied adults ages 18 to 54 without dependents under 18 had to work at least 20 hours a week or lose benefits after three months within a three-year period, according to the Guardian. Under the new law, the work-requirement age range extends to 18 through 64, and the dependent exemption now applies only to children under 14 rather than under 18.

That combination — a wider age band and a narrower dependent exemption — moved more adults into the group required to document work, volunteer hours, or job training to retain benefits.

How Much Will the Changes Save the Federal Government?

The Congressional Budget Office projected the SNAP changes under the One Big Beautiful Act will reduce federal spending by about $187 billion over 10 years, the Guardian reported. Trump and other Republicans have said the stricter work rules are designed to encourage employment among adults who can work, according to the Guardian's account of the administration's position.

What Are Food Banks and Advocates Saying?

Elected officials, nonprofit leaders and people experiencing food insecurity told the Guardian the new rules make it harder, not easier, for households to afford food, pushing more people toward food banks.

"There is always going to be a percentage of our communities who we need to help – we have to accept that – and so, once we accept it, it is easy to just move forward and do the right thing, which is to provide resources to people who need them," said Rhona Kamar, founder and executive director of Feed Louisville, a nonprofit focused on reducing hunger and food waste, according to the Guardian.

The Guardian's reporting frames the dispute as a conflict between an administration goal of incentivizing work and advocates' concern that the rule changes are primarily reducing enrollment rather than employment outcomes. The available source material does not include USDA or White House data on how many disenrolled recipients found jobs.

What's the Timeline for These Changes?

• July 2025: SNAP enrollment stands at 41.6 million, before the One Big Beautiful Act's provisions take effect, per USDA data cited by the Guardian.
• 2025–2026: New work-requirement rules expand the covered age range to 18–64 and narrow the dependent exemption to children under 14.
• June 2026: SNAP enrollment falls to 36.5 million, the most recent USDA figure reported by the Guardian, marking a 13% decline from July 2025.
• Jan. 1, 2026 (related): Medicaid recipients face new work requirements, according to a separate Guardian report referenced within the same article.

What to Watch

• Whether USDA releases further monthly enrollment data showing if the decline continues, stabilizes, or reverses.
• Whether CBO updates its 10-year, $187 billion savings projection as more enrollment data becomes available.
• Whether food bank demand data, not included in the cited reporting, corroborates advocates' claims of rising need.
• How the parallel Medicaid work-requirement changes, set to take effect Jan. 1, intersect with SNAP eligibility for the same households.

The Guardian's full reporting, including additional stakeholder accounts, is available at the originating story.