FRANKFORT, Ky. – A change to federal requirements for participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or 'SNAP' bars states from exempting adults without dependents from the program's work requirements.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the change this week. Tamara Sandberg, executive director of the hunger-fighting group Feeding Kentucky, says more than 20,000 Kentuckians already lost access to their SNAP benefits when the state implemented similar work requirements in 2018.

"So, the issue that we saw in Kentucky that we fear is going to be seen nationwide, is that these restrictions are put into place without also guaranteeing that people have access to the supports they need to get jobs," says Sandberg.

A report from the Urban Institute shows the percentage of SNAP-eligible low-income Kentuckians in some counties would drop from 62% to under 20%.

Supporters of the change maintain it will save the federal government money. The new rule is set to take effect on April 1 of next year.

The SNAP program currently requires able-bodied adults ages 18 to 49, living in households without children, to work a monthly average of at least 20 hours a week, or participate in a workforce program or a qualified training program for the same amount of time.

However, exemptions can be made for people living in areas of high unemployment. Sandberg points out that rural areas often are the most difficult places to find work.

"Anti-hunger advocates are fearing when this rule is implemented nationwide in April, that it's going to cause serious harm to individuals, communities and the whole nation," says Sandberg, “while doing really nothing to improve the health and employment of the people who are impacted by this rule."

She adds workers whose employers cut their hours to less than 20 a week, people attempting to reenter society following incarceration, those with undiagnosed physical and mental disabilities, and people without access to reliable transportation will all have a harder time putting food on the table.

"Let's do a better job to make sure every Kentuckian who doesn't have a job has access to the workforce development training that they need," says Sandberg, “that they can get to the assistance that is set up around the state to make sure that there is a job in their community, that they can get to it, that they have the basic skills needed to stay employed in that position."

According to the Kentucky Center for the Economic Policy, SNAP enrollment has been on the decline since 2013.


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Alabama is one of 14 states opting out of the 2024 summer electronic benefit program.

As summer rolls around, there will be no programs in place to help low-income families with grocery costs.

LaTrell Clifford Wood, hunger policy advocate for the group Alabama Arise, said as a result, more than 500,000 children who usually receive free or reduced lunch could go without meals. She noted while summer feeding programs will be available, they will not reach everyone in need.

"Ninety-four percent of Alabama children who rely on free and reduced-price meals won't have access to them over the summer," Clifford Wood reported. "That means that only 6% of the children who rely on those meals during the school year are going to be fed through summer feeding programs."

Clifford Wood warned limited hours, transportation and strict program rules will hinder many families from benefiting from such vital programs. The Alabama Legislature did not allocate the necessary $15 million for the program by the end of the last session. However, Clifford Wood noted there is a chance the program will be funded in the summer of 2025.

As legislators focus on next year's budgets, Clifford Wood stressed the need for funding next summer's EBT program. She pointed out Alabama Arise is calling for lawmakers to allocate funds from the Education Trust Fund to combat child hunger, affecting one in four children in the state.

"This is a program that's been tested for 13 years," Clifford Wood emphasized. "It's had three rigorous evaluation periods, and it was shown to improve the diet of children and decrease children's food hardship by a third."

Clifford Wood believes prioritizing children's needs and addressing food insecurity is a form of preventive care and serves as an early investment in the state's overall wellness.

The Food Research and Action Center said funding the e-benefits program would also benefit the economy - adding anywhere from $98 million to $117 million. The Alabama Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee is expected to vote on the budget next week.

California's program helping low-income families buy fresh fruit and vegetables is on the chopping block and health care advocates are asking legislators to save the Market Match program.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting most of the program's $35 million budget to help close the state's budget shortfall.

Sophia Vaccaro, a participant in Market Match from Echo Park, said she depends on Market Match in more ways than one.

"It helps people being able to stretch their budget further," Vaccaro explained. "Then, I think it helps the community, in that it creates a sense of camaraderie at the farmers' market and makes people more invested in the community itself."

The program matches every dollar CalFresh customers spend on fresh fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market up to between $10 and $20 per day. It is active at 294 sites across the state and is partially paid for through federal matching funds.

Dr. John Maa, surgeon at Marin Health Medical Center and board member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the American Heart Association, said Market Match promotes healthy eating and boosts the local farm economy.

"An improved diet really will have long-term meaningful impacts on health, and also reduce health care costs," Maa explained. "It really helps to sustain the growers and the merchants. I guess it's a win-win-win."

Siu Han Cheung, outreach coordinator for the Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation and board member of the Heart of the City Farmers' Market, argued the program is vital to residents across the state.

"If the Market Match will be cut, that is terrible," Cheung stressed. "That means they have less money to buy their food. So, Market Match is very important for the low-income families and the seniors."

Legislators and the governor are working toward the May budget revisions, and must pass a balanced budget by June 15.

South Dakotans face high prices at the grocery store and some are working to ease the burden.

A new report from the Federal Trade Commission finds some grocery retailers used the supply-chain disruptions of the pandemic to raise prices and collect bigger profits, even after supply chains regulated.

One South Dakota group is trying to reduce sticker shock by targeting the state sales tax on groceries. Dakotans for Health is sponsoring a citizens ballot initiative to repeal the 4.2 % tax.

Rick Weiland, co-founder of the group, said lower food bills would make a meaningful difference for some.

"People of modest means, or low income hardworking families, disproportionately spend upwards of 30% on food," Weiland pointed out. "This is going to be helpful."

South Dakota is one of only two states in the country to apply its full state sales tax rate to groceries with no exemptions, Mississippi being the other. More than 9% of South Dakotans are considered food insecure, meaning they do not always have access to enough healthy food.

The grocery tax has been a popular topic among state legislators in recent years. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem even campaigned on the promise to repeal it. Critics have said proposing a tax cut without a way to finance it is irresponsible.

Weiland pointed out Gov. Noem had a formula spelled out when she brought forward her bill in 2023, which was voted down.

"She had no problem defending her position in front of the Legislature, in terms of how much revenue the state was going to lose and where they could make it up," Weiland recounted.

The initiative needs about 17,500 signatures by next month to appear on the November ballot.