President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging policy package will require states to shoulder part of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) costs for the first time in six decades, starting in 2028, tying their share to benefit error rates in a shift that could reshape assistance for more than 42 million Americans.
“Even states that are going to try to do their best are going to face really difficult choices,” said Gina Plata-Nino, interim director for SNAP at the Food Research and Action Center, The New York Times reported on Saturday. “Unless this is undone, it really is the end of SNAP as we know it.”
SNAP, a social safety net program formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, serves more than 42 million people nationwide. The federal aid program, renamed in 2008, provides monthly payments for food purchases to low-income residents generally earning less than $1,632 a month for individuals or $3,380 a month for a household of four.
The new mandate links state contributions to SNAP to their error rates in administering benefits. States with rates above 6% must cover 5% to 15% of benefits, with higher rates meaning higher contributions. Based on 2024 figures, all but eight states would face new obligations.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates states will collectively contribute $35 billion toward benefits through 2034. Another provision increases states’ share of administrative costs from 50% to 75%, leaving two-thirds of states with annual SNAP costs rising by at least $100 million.
The change threatens to splinter the safety net program into a patchwork of state policies. Some states warn they may have to end the program outright.
North Carolina’s health department said that without $420 million for benefits and $14 million for administration, it “would have to stop offering the SNAP program altogether,” cutting off 1.4 million residents.
Colorado, meanwhile, is asking voters to approve a tax on high earners that could help cover SNAP costs.
Congressional Republicans defend the cost-sharing rule as a way to give states “skin in the game” and promote accountability, but critics argue that states already face penalties and that the Agriculture Department’s method for calculating error rates is flawed.
The formula “artificially inflates” mistakes by counting technical lapses, such as missing filing deadlines, as errors, said New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Sarah M. Adelman.
“States really don’t have levers where we can make adjustments to prepare for the shift in benefit cost,” she said. “It’s purely a budget question.”
Cindy Long, who led the Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service under former President Joe Biden, said many states struggled during the pandemic to fill staffing shortages and waived requirements drove error rates higher.
While training and technology could improve accuracy, she questioned whether the 6% benchmark was realistic.
More than a dozen states are now investing in automation, staff training, and outreach in hopes of lowering their rates. But officials warn that the law is cutting resources even as it adds new requirements, including stricter work rules and limits on some immigrant eligibility.
“States can’t keep this up,” said Plata-Nino. “Food insecurity is going to rise. Poverty is going to rise. Healthcare issues are going to rise.”
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
