SNAP’s New Reality: Expanded Work Requirements, Cost Shifts to States, and Benefit Adjustment Changes

Zixia Huang(a), Wendong Zhang(a), and Alan Hinds(a)
(a)Cornell University

JEL Codes: H53, H55, H75, Q18
Keywords: food assistance, food security, SNAP

First Published Online: April 20, 2026

View Full Article (PDF)

Abstract

The One Big Beautiful Bill dramatically changes SNAP through three major changes: expanding time-limited work requirements to an estimated 1.6 million more SNAP households, shifting billions in costs to states, and restoring the cost neutrality for benefit adjustment. We show how these shifts impact food security and state budgets.

About the Authors: Zixia Huang (zh253@cornell.edu) is a PhD Student, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Wendong Zhang (wendongz@cornell.edu) is an Associate Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Alan Hinds (arh245@cornell.edu) is a PhD Candidate, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Acknowledgments: All datasets used in this research are publicly available. The SNAP Quality Control Dataset for FY 2023 was accessed through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) portal. SNAP payment error rates, SNAP household counts, and state administrative costs were obtained from USDA Food and Nutrition Service reports. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data were obtained from the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) database maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

References

Bauer, L., and D. Schanzenbach. 2025. SNAP Cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Will Significantly Impair Recession Response. Brookings Institute. Available online: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/snap-cuts-in-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-will-significantly-impair-recession-response/

Congressional Budget Office. 2025a. Distributional Effects of Public Law 119-21. Publication 61367.

———. 2025b. “Estimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 119-21, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Relative to CBO’s January 2025 Baseline” [data file]. Available online: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61570 [Accessed January 21, 2026]

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 2025a. “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average (CPIAUCNS)” [data file]. Available online: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCNS [Accessed August 8, 2025]

———. 2025b. “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food at Home in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SAF11)” [data file]. Available online: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUUR0000SAF11 [Accessed August 8, 2025]

Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. 2013. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Examining the Evidence to Define Benefit Adequacy. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13485

Moran, C.D. 2025, July 29. “How SNAP Changes Could Impact Grocers.” Grocery Dive. Available online: https://www.grocerydive.com/news/snap-policy-grocery-state-waivers/753346/

Plata-Nino, G. and R. Rosso. 2025, July 24. “Shifting the Burden: How the Recently Passed Budget Reconciliation Package Reshapes SNAP and Strains State Budgets.” Food Research & Action Center. Available online: https://frac.org/blog/shifting-the-burden-how-the-recently-passed-budget-reconciliation-package-reshapes-snap-and-strains-state-budgets

Ross, K., and K. Andara. 2025. SNAP Cuts Are Likely to Harm More Than 27,000 Retailers Nationwide. Center for American Progress. Available online: https://www.americanprogress.org/article/snap-cuts-are-likely-to-harm-more-than-27000-retailers-nationwide/

US Congress. 2008. Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. P.L. 110-246, 122 Stat. 1651. Available online: https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/6124/text

———. 2018. Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. P.L. 115-334, 132 Stat. 4490. Available online: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/2/text

———/2025. One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. P.L. 119-21, 139 Stat. 119. Available online: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/text

US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS). “Fiscal Year 2024 SNAP Quality Control Payment Error Rates” [data file]. Available online: https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-fy24QC-PER.pdf

———. 2025 SNAP Quality Control (QC) [database]. Available online: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/qc/database [Accessed August 5, 2025]

———. “SNAP Monthly State Participation and Benefit Summary P-EBT/Other Excluded - Public Data, Fiscal Year 2023” [data file]. Available online: https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resource-files/snap-zip-fy69tocurrent-2.zip [Accessed August 11, 2025]

———. SNAP Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information. Available online: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/allotment/COLA

Wheaton, L., L. Giannarelli., S. Minton, and I. Dehry. 2025. How the Senate Budget Reconciliation SNAP Proposals Will Affect Families in Every US State: A Summary of Preliminary Research Findings. Urban Institute. Available online: https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/How-the-Senate-Budget-Reconciliation-SNAP-Proposals-Will-Affect-Families-in-Every-US-State.pdf