Analysis: nearly 1 in 10 could lose SNAP benefits under USDA proposal; see state-level data projections

Mathematica graphic; click here for the interactive version with state-level data.

Nearly 1.9 million households, or 10 percent of households who get benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, could lose eligibility for the program under a new Trump administration proposal, according to a data analysis by think tank Mathematica, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The simulation model projects SNAP eligibility changes based on fiscal year 2016 SNAP Quality Control data. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed on July 24 to tighten income and resource eligibility requirements for the program. Specifically, it would eliminate broad-based categorial eligibility, a policy that makes most households eligible for SNAP if they qualify for non-cash Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. 

Eliminating BBCE could have an outsized impact on the working poor. The policy "enables states to raise SNAP income eligibility limits somewhat so that many low-income working families that have difficulty making ends meet, such as because they face costly housing or child care expenses that consume a sizeable share of their income, can receive help affording adequate food," Dottie Rosenbaum writes for the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "This policy also lets states adopt less restrictive asset tests so that families, seniors, and people with a disability can have modest savings without losing SNAP."