Propublica: “The Alarm Bell”: #Arizona’s Drop in #SNAP Participation Signals Potential Nationwide Impact of Trump Legislation

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act imposes stricter food stamp work requirements and shifts a larger share of the costs to states. Arizona’s swift implementation has made it more difficult to apply and caused nearly half of recipients to lose benefits.

by Nicole Santa Cruz
April 8, 2026

"More than 400,000 Arizonans have lost their SNAP benefits since July — the largest decline in the nation by a wide margin — as an underfunded state agency administered changes called for in President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

"The drop represents nearly 47% of the state’s participants in the program better known as food stamps and includes about 180,000 children, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, which administers the program.

"On Wednesday, the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released data through February showing that the reduction in Arizona has far outstripped other states. After Arizona, the largest loss of participants was in Florida, where less than 16% of recipients lost benefits since July, according to the center’s analysis.

"Arizona officials attribute the plunging caseload to swift implementation of policy changes forced by the bill, including new work requirements.

"But interviews suggest that Arizona’s efforts to comply, combined with cuts to the agency that runs the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, have contributed to the decline — making it more difficult to apply and causing people who are eligible to be denied. The state’s drop has exceeded previous projections.

" 'Arizona is just the alarm bell,' said Joseph Palomino, executive director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, a nonpartisan advocacy organization. “This is likely going to happen in every state.' "

Read more:
https://www.propublica.org/article/arizona-snap-benefits-trump-legislation

#USPol #HungerGames #TheHungerGamesAreNow #SNAPCuts #BigUglyBill #BigUglyPresident #WorkCamps #Starvation #Authoritarianism

#Trump’s #megabill may force your local grocery store to close

By Nathaniel Meyersohn
July 28, 2025

Excerpt: "Wright’s Market has been a fixture of Opelika, Alabama, a town of around 30,000 near Auburn University, since the 1970s. The supermarket relies on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (#SNAP) for roughly one-third of sales.

"SNAP is a 'big piece of what we do,' said owner Jimmy Wright, who has worked at the store since he was 12 and bought it almost 30 years ago. 'We see very hardworking people who are using this program to try to feed their families and pay rent.'

" 'SNAP, formerly known as #FoodStamps, is the largest #AntiHunger program in America. Recipients receive, on average, about $6.16 a day, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"But President Trump’s #OneBigBeautifulBill Act makes the largest cuts to food stamps in the program’s 86-year history, jeopardizing assistance for more than 42 million people. It also imperils the program’s role as an economic anchor for grocery stores and communities, particularly in #rural areas, according to #grocers and economists."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/28/business/trump-big-beautiful-bill-snap-grocery?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc&recs_exp=most-read-article-end&tenant_id=popular.en

#RuralCommunities #FoodDeserts #TrumpHatesThePoor #SNAP #FoodAssistanceCuts #BigUglyBill #BigUglyPresident #USPol