New Trump Policy Could Take Away Food Stamps From 3.6 Million Americans

A policy proposed by the Trump administration is putting millions of Americans at risk of losing food stamp benefits. A new state-level data shows how 3.6 million citizens would be affected when this rule takes effect.

Based on the analysis by the policy firm Mathematica, 9 percent of households that are currently receiving food stamps or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will no longer be qualified for the benefits. For certain states, the percentage could be even higher.

SNAP was originally established in 1964 and feeds over 37 million Americans. A person enrolled receives an average of $127 per month. That’s $1.39 per meal.

On July 24, the Trump administration proposed changing how states determine who is qualified to receive SNAP benefits.

The proposed rule states that people with a gross income of 130 percent above the federal poverty line or have assets amounting to more than $2,250 are no longer eligible to receive food benefits.

This would disqualify an estimate of 3.6 million Americans.

The new rule would affect Delaware, Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada. These states would lose at least 15 percent of SNAP recipients.

Elaine Waxman, who is studying food insecurity, states that, “In the absence of significant change, if we lose SNAP benefits, we can expect increases in both food insecurity and poverty.”

According to Waxman, an estimated 500,000 children could also lose qualification for free lunch in school programs. This is because states that enrolled people under the SNAP benefits also enrolled their children to receive free lunches from the school.

Sources: PBS News Hour / Photo Credit: Google