{"id":3999,"date":"2026-08-21T18:34:56","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T18:34:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3999"},"modified":"2026-08-21T18:34:56","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T18:34:56","slug":"enrollment-in-snap-grocery-aid-is-dropping-faster-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=3999","title":{"rendered":"Enrollment in SNAP grocery aid is dropping faster than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

By GEOFF MULVIHILL and MIKELLA SCHUETTLER<\/strong><\/p>\n

PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 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\u2019s \u201cbig beautiful bill\u201d take hold.<\/p>\n

Read more Man crossing through traffic on I-270 exit ramp in Commerce City struck, killed by hit-and-run driver<\/a><\/p>\n

Those losing coverage in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, include people who don\u2019t meet the tightening requirements to participate, and, advocates say, some who qualify for the help but are rejected because they miss deadlines or don\u2019t have the needed documentation handy. It\u2019s too early to tell exactly how many fall into each group.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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\u2019s largest enrollment drop.<\/p>\n

Tia Fields, who analyzes social safety net policies at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana, said the main reason she\u2019s 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 is riddled with fraud.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they\u2019re working and they\u2019re 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 of 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\u2019s strong focus on advancing opportunities for Floridians and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n