Federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are already reshaping food security across the country, according to public health experts who briefed community media reporters on new congressional district-level data.

In a media briefing on May 8, hosted by American Community Media, Dr. Mallya and Dr. Thorpe provide insights on the cuts to SNAP Benefits and what this means for millions of Americans. 

Speakers

  • Dr. Giridhar Mallya, Senior Policy Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Mallya is a public health physician
  • Dr. Lorna E. Thorpe, Methods Co Principal Investigator, Congressional District Health Dashboard. Dr. Thorpe is the Chair of the Department of Population Health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine

The briefing centered on the Congressional District Health Dashboard, a public data tool that tracks more than 40 health and social indicators across every congressional district in the United States. The dashboard recently added SNAP participation data, offering reporters, advocates and policymakers a way to monitor how federal nutrition policy changes are affecting communities on the ground.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, helps low-income families afford groceries. According to the speakers, 42 million people currently rely on the program, including children, seniors, people with disabilities and working adults who still struggle to afford basic needs.

But after Congress passed HR1, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” nearly $187 billion was cut from SNAP through 2034 — the largest cut to the program since it began in 1964.

Since the law passed in July 2025, more than 3 million people have already lost SNAP benefits. Mallya warned that more people could be affected as additional parts of the law take effect.

“Based on national data, we’ve seen that 3 million people have lost SNAP benefits since July of last year in the wake of the big beautiful bill,” Mallya said. “And importantly, as more parts of the bill take effect and with other policy discussions that are happening right now, it’s likely that another million people could either lose benefits or see them drastically reduced.”

A Lifeline for Families

Mallya described SNAP as one of the country’s most important public health and economic programs.

“We need clear credible data to ensure that decisions in Washington and across the country reflect the real needs of communities,” he said. “And no one especially kids, people with disabilities, veterans, older adults should be left wondering if they can afford their next meal.”

SNAP serves households living near or below the federal poverty level, which Mallya said is about $31,000 for a family of four this year. Nearly four in 10 SNAP recipients are children. The program also serves seniors, people with disabilities and adults who are employed but still cannot afford basic necessities.

On average, individuals receive $188 per month, while the average household receives $332 per month — about $1.50 per meal.

Mallya also clarified that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for SNAP and have never been eligible. Green card holders are eligible after a five-year waiting period, while some other lawfully present immigrants had previously been eligible but have recently lost benefits due to policy changes.

The New SNAP Data

Thorpe said the Congressional District Health Dashboard was created to make local health data more accessible and useful.

“Our mission on the Congressional District Health Dashboard is to provide data on more than 40 measures of health and drivers of health parsed to the boundaries of every congressional district in the country,” she said.

The new SNAP metric measures the percentage of households participating in SNAP in every congressional district. The dashboard combines data from the American Community Survey and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

Thorpe said the tool currently includes SNAP data from the end of 2022 through the fall of 2025 and will be updated twice a year.

“And this updating and quarterly cadence is key because it allows users to see changes as they happen rather than waiting years, which is what many data sources do,” she said.

According to the dashboard, more than one in six households across U.S. congressional districts participate in SNAP. From late 2022 through the third quarter of 2025, average SNAP participation remained relatively stable, ranging from 17.2% to 17.9% of households.

But Thorpe emphasized that even small percentage changes represent large numbers of families.

“For example, the difference between 17.2% and 17.3% is equal to over 130,000 households in the country,” she said.

Local differences are especially stark. Some districts have SNAP participation rates as low as 3%, while others reach nearly 60%. In Georgia, participation ranges from 5% to 32% across districts. In Ohio, it ranges from 8% to 27%.

California’s High Participation

Thorpe used California as an example of how the dashboard can show regional disparities.

She said California’s SNAP participation is higher than the national average, with nearly a quarter of households participating. The national average is 17.4%.

In California’s Central Valley, participation is especially high. Thorpe said California’s 22nd District, around Bakersfield, has about half of households participating in SNAP. California’s 21st District, near Fresno, has more than 50% of households participating.

The dashboard also allows users to compare SNAP participation with other indicators, including poverty, unemployment, life expectancy, housing and access to care.

Thorpe said this can help reporters and advocates connect nutrition policy to broader health outcomes.

“At the dashboard, our goal is to make sure that users have the right data at the right geographic level to understand how federal policies affect communities,” she said, “which can then be used to help hold leaders accountable and inform policy change.”

What Changed Under the New Law

Mallya outlined four major changes to SNAP under the new federal law.

First, the law expanded work requirements. While SNAP has long had some work requirements for many adults, the new rules now apply to older adults ages 55 to 64 and parents of teenagers as young as 14. The law also removes work requirement exemptions for veterans and others.

“What we know from prior experiences in SNAP and other programs like Medicaid is that work requirements don’t work,” Mallya said. “They do very little to increase employment to increase employment, but they lead to huge drops in participation.”

Second, the law shifts more costs from the federal government to states. Beginning in October, states will have to pay 75% of SNAP administrative expenses, up from 50%. Starting in 2027, most states will also have to pay a portion of actual food costs, ranging from 5% to 15%.

Mallya said those costs could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Third, the law removes benefits from some lawfully present immigrants, including refugees, asylees and trafficking survivors.

Fourth, the law freezes future benefit calculations, preventing SNAP benefits from growing with inflation and food costs.

The result, Mallya said, is a nearly $190 billion reduction over the next decade, affecting millions of people.

“Four million people, including 1 million children, will either lose their benefits or see a drastic decline in the value of their benefits,” he said.

Fear Among Immigrants

Mallya also warned that immigrant families may stop using benefits even when they remain legally eligible.

Asked whether fear of immigration enforcement could lead to a voluntary drop-off in SNAP participation, he said the answer is yes, though he challenged the word voluntary.

“I think voluntary is one way to describe it,” he said. “I think people are really being forced off through draconian really unjust policies.”

He said immigrants, including green card holders, naturalized citizens and citizen children in mixed-status families, are already pulling away from public programs because of fear.

“We have seen drops in participation in a number of public programs including SNAP among immigrants,” he said.

Mallya said the fear is driven by several factors, including the exclusion of some lawfully present immigrants from SNAP, broader immigration enforcement actions and data-sharing between public programs and immigration authorities.

“All these things create real fear fear understandable fear among immigrants and it is leading to participation drops and we’re likely to see even more of that,” he said.

Children in Mixed-status Families

Mallya emphasized that citizen children in mixed-status families remain eligible for SNAP, even when their parents are undocumented.

“So, per the law, those citizen children continue to be eligible,” he said. “And undocumented folks in this country have never been eligible for SNAP.”

But he said many eligible children are still losing access because their parents or caregivers are afraid to interact with government systems.

“What we are seeing is that citizen children with eligibility for SNAP or with Medicaid are losing those benefits because their parents, their caregivers are fearful of engaging with government programs,” he said.

He said immigrant rights and health advocates are working with families to help them understand the law and enroll children through trusted community organizations.

Still, he said families are being placed in a difficult position.

“It really leaves these families in a difficult situation because we’re seeing all the ways that programs like this are being used to trap immigrants in very difficult situations,” Mallya said.

Food Banks Cannot Fill the Gap

When asked what resources exist for people who lose SNAP, Mallya said food banks, WIC and local food programs can help, but they cannot replace SNAP. “There are some other resources available but they’re insufficient,” he said.

WIC helps pregnant women and young children, but provides smaller benefits than SNAP. Food banks remain important, especially those run by faith-based and community organizations, but Mallya said they operate on a far smaller scale.

“One way to think about this is that for every one meal that food banks provide, the SNAP program provides nine meals,” he said.

He also pointed to Feeding America as a national resource, while acknowledging that food banks themselves are struggling with high food prices and increased demand.

“For every one meal that a food bank provides, nine are provided by SNAP,” he said. “So they cannot fill in the gap by themselves.”

Health Consequences

Mallya said SNAP cuts are also likely to affect public health, especially among seniors and people with chronic conditions.

He said research shows SNAP helps families afford food, manage health conditions and reduce pressure on healthcare systems.

“SNAP is one of the most amazing public health policies and programs that we have in our country,” he said.

He added that SNAP improves infant and child health, can boost academic performance and can encourage healthier eating when paired with incentives for fruits and vegetables.

While it is too early to say whether the recent cuts have increased hospitalizations or doctor visits, Mallya said previous research suggests such effects are likely.

“Even though we don’t have the data right now to say that the drops in participation have led to more hospitalizations or poorer health, we can expect based on other research that we will see impacts like that,” he said.

Thorpe added that it may be difficult to isolate the health effects of SNAP cuts because they are happening alongside Medicaid enrollment changes and other federal policy shifts.

“There are a number of federal policies that may be impacting the health of residents happening at the same time,” she said.

A Tool for Accountability

Thorpe said the dashboard has quickly become a trusted resource for congressional staff, advocates, researchers and journalists since launching in 2023.

“It has very quickly become a trusted source for congressional staff, for advocates, for researchers, and for journalists that are seeking timely district level data,” she said.

She said policymakers use the tool to understand how federal programs affect local communities, while journalists have used its Medicaid enrollment data to report on how federal cuts could affect families’ health and economic security.

The dashboard draws from several sources, including the Census, the American Community Survey, the National Center for Health Statistics and major federal surveys such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

Thorpe said new SNAP and Medicaid data will be posted July 22 and that journalists can sign up for early access to future releases.

“We will have new SNAP and Medicaid data on July 22nd posted this summer,” she said.

The Stakes Ahead

Both speakers closed by emphasizing that SNAP is more than a food program. It is also a public health tool, an anti-poverty program and an economic stabilizer for communities.

Thorpe said the new data offers a baseline for understanding future changes.

“I will just say that SNAP is a lifeline for millions of families and these new data provide a baseline for what’s happening on the ground,” she said.

Mallya urged reporters to use the data to tell stories about how SNAP affects children, families and local communities.

“It is a lifeline as Lorna said, and it is a public health success and one that’s worth protecting,” he said. He added that community stories can influence policymakers and public opinion.

“I think in the richest country in the world, we can do better and it’s stories like the ones that you are going to tell that can help us make a difference.”