More than 3 million Texans currently rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) to help cover the cost of groceries, but that figure is already falling, and hunger advocates say the steepest declines may still be ahead.
State data shows that in April 2026, there were nearly 500,000 fewer eligible Texans participating in SNAP compared with April 2025, a drop of 14%. The decline mirrors a national trend: according to the US Department of Agriculture, participation fell in every state between July 2025 and February 2026, with roughly 4 million fewer people enrolled across the country.
The reductions follow the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), signed into law on 4 July 2025, which introduced what Feeding Texas describes as the largest overhaul and reduction in SNAP’s history, cutting approximately $187 billion over a decade.
Tightened Eligibility Is Reshaping Who Qualifies
The legislation extended work requirements to groups previously exempt. Since December 2025, parents and household members caring for a child aged 14 or older must now work 30 hours per week or demonstrate an exemption. Veterans, individuals experiencing homelessness, and those who aged out of foster care at 24 or younger are no longer automatically exempt from these rules.
Able-bodied adults between 18 and 65 without dependants must work or attend an approved work programme forat least 80 hours per month to remain eligible. Certain lawful permanent residents and individuals granted conditional entry under asylum and refugee laws are also no longer entitled to benefits under the revised rules.
Celia Cole, chief executive of Feeding Texas, told the Texas Tribune that the three-month window given to recipients to find work before being removed from the programme means the full effect of the December changes would not have been felt until March at the earliest. She also pointed to immigration enforcement as a contributing factor, noting that some undocumented parents (whose citizen children would otherwise qualify) are declining to apply out of fear that sharing their information could lead to deportation. At least 27 states, including Texas, have passed SNAP information to the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Financial Pressure Is Shifting to the States
Beyond eligibility, the OBBB reshapes how SNAP is funded. From October 2026, states will bear 75% of SNAP administrative costs, which Feeding Texas estimates will add approximately $117 million annually to Texas’s budget. Beginning in fiscal year 2028, states with payment error rates above 6% will be required to contribute between 5% and 15% of benefit costs.
Texas currently carries an error rate of 8.32%, meaning it could face substantial cost-sharing obligations if that figure is not reduced. The state’s Health and Human Services Commission said it is working to bring the rate down, though advocates have called for a two-year delay on the cost-share requirement, flexibility already extended to Alaska, Florida, and several other states.
Cole noted that for every meal provided by food banks, SNAP provides nine, underscoring the scale of what any further reduction in participation would mean for families already under financial strain.
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