SNAP Update: Hundreds of Thousands of Kids Lose Benefits, Analyses Shows

Hundreds of thousands of children across the United States have lost access to food assistance under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), according to recent reports from ProPublica and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Overall, there's been a sharp decline in participation among children following sweeping federal changes to the program enacted in 2025 under the Trump administration.

"The Trump administration pledged to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse within government programs. This has resulted in stricter eligibility standards, expanded work requirements, and reduced federal support flowing to states that administer programs like SNAP," Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek.

"Whether intentional or not, the result has been the same: hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost access to benefits they previously relied upon."

Why It Matters

SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in the U.S., serving tens of millions of people and disproportionately supporting families with children.

The program has been linked to a reduction in poverty and food insecurity, ultimately improving health outcomes, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). But the recent loss of benefits is raising questions about the long-term implications for low-income American families.

What To Know

At least 776,000 children have lost SNAP benefits in 12 states that publish age-specific data, according to a new analysis from ProPublica. Those children represent about 46 percent of the total decline in SNAP enrollment in those states.

Similarly, the CBPP estimated that more than 700,000 children have lost benefits in the same group of states.

Overall, SNAP participation has dropped by millions nationwide. Because not all states report enrollment by age, both analyses rely on partial but consistent datasets, meaning the true national figure could be higher.

"These are people who actually need and rely on this food assistance to provide basic nutrition for their families," Representative Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, said when questioning Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins about comments made in support of the declining SNAP population.

ProPublica: 776,000 Children Lost Food Assistance

ProPublica looked at the 12 states that break down SNAP participation by age, comparing program enrollment before and after the 2025 federal law took effect.

The budget reconciliation package known as H.R. 1 cut SNAP spending by roughly $187 billion through 2034. That marked a 20 percent cut and the largest budget drop in the program's history.

"More extensive work rules, more paperwork, state staffing shortages, and new cost-sharing requirements are pushing families out of SNAP even when children themselves were not supposed to be the target," Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek.

"For families, that means grocery money disappears while rent, utilities, and child-care costs remain, forcing parents to rely more heavily on food banks, cut other essentials, or ultimately buy less food."

CBPP: Children Make Up Around Half of SNAP Losses

The CBPP combined federal and state data from the USDA and state agencies across the same 12 states, specifically tracking for changes in participation after the July 2025 law.

The organization concluded that children accounted for nearly half of the 1.6 million-person drop in SNAP participation in those states.

Why Children Are Losing Benefits

Experts say the decline in SNAP benefits is not primarily due to reduced need, but to barriers enacted under H.R. 1.

The 2025 law requires states to cover part of SNAP benefit costs for the first time. States are also facing financial penalties tied to payment error rates, creating an incentive to tighten eligibility or delay approvals.

Subsequently, states have made changes that often make applications harder and increase denials or delays. That could reduce participation even among eligible families.

Arizona experienced one of the steepest declines, with a major drop of 205,223 in child participation. That marked a 55 percent decline, while Louisiana also record a significant loss of 22 percent, ProPublica found.

How Will Children Be Impacted?

The loss of SNAP benefits could have widespread long-term consequences.

Because SNAP participation is linked to better self-reported health and lower disease risk, an increase in diet-related illness is likely in the years ahead for children who otherwise would have benefited from SNAP.

"The long-term concern is an increase in poverty and the social challenges that often accompany it. There is a well-documented relationship between economic hardship and higher rates of crime, housing instability, and poor educational outcomes," Thompson said. "When families struggle to meet basic needs, the effects rarely stop with one generation."

There can also be impacts on education, as cognitive development and school performance take a hit when regularly supplied healthy food isn't available. That translates to reduced long-term earning potential, experts say.

"Children growing up in persistent poverty often face fewer opportunities, creating a cycle that can be difficult to break," Thompson said. "If access to food assistance continues to decline without alternative support systems, the economic and social costs could extend far beyond the immediate savings generated by the cuts."

Losing SNAP eligibility can also make children less likely to qualify for WIC benefits and free or reduced-price school meals as the programs often rely on each other for mutual eligibility.

What Happens Next

The full impact may not yet be visible:

• Some provisions of the 2025 law haven't fully taken effect.
• States will face new financial obligations starting in 2027, potentially increasing pressure to restrict access to SNAP.

"The long-term consequences are much bigger than one missed meal, because childhood hunger is linked to poorer health and weaker academic performance," Beene said.

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This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 1:09 PM.