Here's how many in NC could lose SNAP benefits under new plan

Published December 5, 2019

A new Trump administration plan could eliminate food stamps for more than 3 million of the nation's 36 million recipients. A new study, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found the expected number of households that would lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP benefits.

Overall, one in 10 SNAP households are slated to lose program eligibility in 20 states. Nine percent of current SNAP households nationwide would not meet the program's income and resource eligibility requirements, and thus lose all of their benefits.

The proposed rule would have a major impact on our state. North Carolina would lose 11 percent, or 79,260 of its current SNAP households. With those households losing $112 In monthly benefits.

 

The study found that SNAP households in the state of Wisconsin would suffer the greatest loss, as 18 percent of households that used the program would lose eligibility under the new rule.

Here are the five states that would lose the greatest percentage of their SNAP households:

  1. Wisconsin: 18 percent 
  2. North Dakota: 17 percent 
  3. Delaware: 16 percent 
  4. Iowa: 16 percent 
  5. Nevada: 16 percent 

Nearly 3.6 million people nationwide are slated to lose eligibility under the proposed rule, according to the Impact of Proposed Policy Changes to SNAP Categorical Eligibility by State.

"Under the proposed rule, millions of vulnerable families will have an even harder time making ends meet and putting food on the table. This research shows that this pain will be felt in states across the nation," said Richard Besser, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 

"Any reforms to SNAP should reduce food insecurity, not exacerbate it. We urge USDA to withdraw this rule and reconsider its approach to SNAP."

The data presented doesn't paint a promising picture for the households expected to lose their benefits, as 74 percent of the affected homes live in poverty. 65,983 of those households include children, and 108,230 households include an elderly adult, according to the report.