SNAP Benefits Update: Map Shows States With Biggest Enrollment Decline

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Key points

• Georgia saw enrollment drop from around 1.87 million in May 2025 to 1.18 million in May 2026, a 36.5 percent drop.
• Florida saw SNAP enrollment fall 22.2 percent, from regarding 2.94 million participants in May 2025 to 2.29 million in May 2026, according to USDA data.
• Department of Agriculture (USDA) data demonstrates a drop in enrollment from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026, a fall off significantly larger than original federal projections.
• Louisiana recorded a 21.5 percent decline in SNAP participation over the same period, with enrollment dropping from roughly 804, 000 recipients to 631, 000.
• Trump's One Major Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025, expanded work requirements for some SNAP recipients.

Participation in the nation's largest food assistance program has fallen over the past year, with new federal data showing enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) declined by more than 13 percent over a 12-month period as eligibility rules and work requirements tightened under President Donald Trump's domestic policy package. SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, are paid to more than 35 million low-income Americans each month to support them with the cost of groceries. It is the largest federal nutrition assistance program and serves millions of households with children. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data demonstrates a drop in enrollment from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026, a fall off significantly larger than original federal projections. Over the past 16 years, the average number of monthly SNAP beneficiaries has only dropped below 40 million twice, in 2019 and 2020, according to the AP. While anti-hunger advocates argue some eligible recipients may lose benefits as of administrative hurdles, missed paperwork deadlines or difficulties navigating the recertification process, supporters of the Trump administration's SNAP updates say the stricter requirements are intended to encourage workforce participation and reduce administration spending and fraud. Newsweek reached out to the state agencies that oversee SNAP in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada for comment by email on Friday. States With Biggest Enrollment Decline The sharpest decline has been recorded in Arizona, where SNAP participation has fallen by more than half over the past year, regarding 53 percent, according to USDA data issued on August 14 tracking the percent change from May 2025 to May 2026. In May 2025, there were 887, 000 Arizonians on SNAP, per the data. One year afterwards, in May 2026, there were around 410, 000 residents on SNAP in the state. Much of the state's drop was related to the state's struggle to implement new federal requirements, the state agency that oversees and administers SNAP remarked. "Implementing the federally mandated changes triggered unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements, creating real barriers for applicants, " Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, informed the AP. A number of other states, including Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada, have additionally seen enrollment drop by more than 20 percent during the same period. Georgia saw enrollment drop from around 1.87 million in May 2025 to 1.18 million in May 2026, a 36.5 percent drop. In Nevada, SNAP enrollment fell 23.1 percent year over year, falling from almost 497, 000 participants in May 2025 to regarding 382, 000 in May 2026. Florida saw SNAP enrollment fall 22.2 percent, from regarding 2.94 million participants in May 2025 to 2.29 million in May 2026, according to USDA data. The state's membership decline is partly attributed to immigration reservations, Paco Velez, president and CEO of Feeding South Florida, informed the AP. He observed that some immigrants who are legally in the country may be avoiding SNAP benefits as they fear being targeted by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Louisiana recorded a 21.5 percent decline in SNAP participation over the same period, with enrollment dropping from roughly 804, 000 recipients to 631, 000. Eligibility Requirements Trump's One Major Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025, expanded work requirements for some SNAP recipients. While narrowing certain exemptions, the law extended the requirements to extra adults, including those ages 55 to 64 and some parents with older children. It additionally tightened the criteria states must meet to waive the requirements in areas with high unemployment or limited job opportunities. While critics argue that stricter work requirements, narrower exemptions and further paperwork could cause some eligible recipients to lose benefits, particularly if they fail to meet administrative requirements or provide required documentation in time, supporters say the changes are designed to encourage workforce participation and reduce administration spending. In February, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the new requirements and other factors would lower SNAP enrollment over the coming decade, with an estimated 34 million beneficiaries by 2036. Food Banks Affected by SNAP Changes Food banks in some parts of the country say they are already seeing more families seek emergency food assistance as SNAP enrollment declines. While some food banks documented demand increases of 40 to 60 percent against the backdrop of affordability pressures, KUNM documented on August 20, in New Mexico, food bank leaders informed lawmakers that demand for assistance has risen after the loss of SNAP benefits for roughly 25, 000 residents. Similar reservations have been raised in Texas, where Feeding Texas, the state's food bank network, stated it has seen rose demand in recent months as SNAP participation fell by concerning 14 percent year over year, the Texas Tribune documented in May. As the Trump administration pushes to remove soda, candy and other products from SNAP, upcoming Changes to SNAP In Some States Almost 2.7 million residents receiving SNAP benefits throughout five states are set to face new limits on what they can purchase over the next six weeks. South Carolina's rules are slated to commence August 31, followed by North Dakota on September 1, Montana on September 30, and Ohio and Virginia on October 1, according to the USDA's current list of SNAP food restriction waivers. The USDA's latest state-level figures show that the five states had more than 2.6 million SNAP participants as of April. The five states are joining Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, where food-restriction waivers have already taken effect this year. Nevertheless, the expansion has additionally hit a significant legal obstacle. On June 22, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the USDA exceeded its statutory authority when approving projects that restrict what SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia could purchase with their benefits. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas.

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SNAP benefits, commonly known as food stamps, are paid to more than 35 million low-income Americans each month to support them with the cost of groceries. It is the largest federal nutrition assistance program and serves millions of households with children.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data demonstrates a drop in enrollment from 42.2 million in May 2025 to 36.6 million in May 2026, a fall off significantly larger than original federal projections. Over the past 16 years, the average number of monthly SNAP beneficiaries has only dropped below 40 million twice, in 2019 and 2020, according to the AP.

While anti-hunger advocates argue some eligible recipients may lose benefits as of administrative hurdles, missed paperwork deadlines or difficulties navigating the recertification process, supporters of the Trump administration's SNAP updates say the stricter requirements are intended to encourage workforce participation and reduce administration spending and fraud.

Newsweek reached out to the state agencies that oversee SNAP in Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada for comment by email on Friday.

Notably, the sharpest decline has been recorded in Arizona, where SNAP participation has fallen by more than half over the past year, regarding 53 percent, according to USDA data issued on August 14 tracking the percent change from May 2025 to May 2026.

In May 2025, there were 887, 000 Arizonians on SNAP, per the data. One year afterwards, in May 2026, there were around 410, 000 residents on SNAP in the state.

Much of the state's drop was related to the state's struggle to implement new federal requirements, the state agency that oversees and administers SNAP remarked.

"Implementing the federally mandated changes triggered unprecedented call volumes and administrative hurdles, including additional verification requirements, creating real barriers for applicants, " Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, informed the AP.

For context, a number of other states, including Georgia, Florida, Louisiana and Nevada, have additionally seen enrollment drop by more than 20 percent during the same period.

Georgia saw enrollment drop from around 1.87 million in May 2025 to 1.18 million in May 2026, a 36.5 percent drop. In Nevada, SNAP enrollment fell 23.1 percent year over year, falling from almost 497, 000 participants in May 2025 to regarding 382, 000 in May 2026.

Florida saw SNAP enrollment fall 22.2 percent, from regarding 2.94 million participants in May 2025 to 2.29 million in May 2026, according to USDA data. The state's membership decline is partly attributed to immigration reservations, Paco Velez, president and CEO of Feeding South Florida, informed the AP. He observed that some immigrants who are legally in the country may be avoiding SNAP benefits as they fear being targeted by the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Trump's One Major Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025, expanded work requirements for some SNAP recipients. While narrowing certain exemptions, the law extended the requirements to extra adults, including those ages 55 to 64 and some parents with older children. It additionally tightened the criteria states must meet to waive the requirements in areas with high unemployment or limited job opportunities.

While critics argue that stricter work requirements, narrower exemptions and further paperwork could cause some eligible recipients to lose benefits, particularly if they fail to meet administrative requirements or provide required documentation in time, supporters say the changes are designed to encourage workforce participation and reduce administration spending.

In February, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the new requirements and other factors would lower SNAP enrollment over the coming decade, with an estimated 34 million beneficiaries by 2036. Food Banks Affected by SNAP Changes.

Food banks in some parts of the country say they are already seeing more families seek emergency food assistance as SNAP enrollment declines. While some food banks documented demand increases of 40 to 60 percent against the backdrop of affordability pressures, KUNM documented on August 20, in New Mexico, food bank leaders informed lawmakers that demand for assistance has risen after the loss of SNAP benefits for roughly 25, 000 residents.

Similar reservations have been raised in Texas, where Feeding Texas, the state's food bank network, stated it has seen rose demand in recent months as SNAP participation fell by concerning 14 percent year over year, the Texas Tribune documented in May. Upcoming Changes to SNAP In Some States.

As the Trump administration pushes to remove soda, candy and other products from SNAP, almost 2.7 million residents receiving SNAP benefits throughout five states are set to face new limits on what they can purchase over the next six weeks.

South Carolina's rules are slated to commence August 31, followed by North Dakota on September 1, Montana on September 30, and Ohio and Virginia on October 1, according to the USDA's current list of SNAP food restriction waivers. The USDA's latest state-level figures show that the five states had more than 2.6 million SNAP participants as of April.

Meanwhile, the five states are joining Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah, where food-restriction waivers have already taken effect this year.

Nevertheless, the expansion has additionally hit a significant legal obstacle. On June 22, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that the USDA exceeded its statutory authority when approving projects that restrict what SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia could purchase with their benefits.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Gray R. Thomas.

Taken together, the developments around SNAP Benefits Update: Map Shows States With Biggest Enrollment Decline point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.