Changes to SNAP benefits are in effect. Here's how Pennsylvanians could be impacted.
Thousands in Pennsylvania could have more trouble putting food on their tables as new restrictions on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits go into effect.
October 1 marks a new year for SNAP benefits, and that means some recipients could see a bump in payments, the routine increases based on regular inflation. Here in Pennsylvania, it's an average of $18 per month from last year, according to the state Department of Human Services. However, that's not the only change.
"There are new rules about work requirements, and there are new rules about reporting on people's utility bills and their rental and housing costs," Amelia Finaret, associate professor of business and economics at Allegheny College, said.
She said these new restrictions will make it more difficult to navigate the program and will likely cost countless families their benefits. Currently, more than 1.7 million Pennsylvanians take part in SNAP.
"If you are between 18 and 64, if you do not have a dependent child under age 14 and if you are able to work, then you have to work at least 20 hours a week, or else you have a limit in your SNAP benefits of three months total," Finaret said.
The stricter eligibility is a part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which the Food Research and Action Center said has already resulted in more than 5 million Americans losing their benefits since it was signed into law.
Now, the work requirements are extended to age 64, up from 54, and income caps have shifted. Recipients also have to be considered physically and mentally able to work, and being a veteran or a current or former foster youth between 18 and 24 will no longer be an exemption from work requirements.
States like Pennsylvania are now also responsible for funding 75% of administrative costs, instead of 50%. KDKA reached out to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for comment. In a statement, Colleen Young, the director of government affairs, said in part, "When families lose access to SNAP, they turn to food pantries which are already seeing record high demand at a time when other federal cuts to food assistance have meant feeding more people with less."
"I'm worried that these changes are going to have a negative effect, and that they're going to increase food insecurity and poverty," Finaret said.
Learn more about the new restrictions and SNAP eligibility online.
