“This marks an existential threat to our most powerful anti-hunger program,” said Kelemen.
Contact: Ryan Flaherty, rflaherty@strength.org
WASHINGTON, DC — This week, USDA released FY25 SNAP payment error rates, which measure math and paperwork mistakes that result in families receiving the incorrect amount of benefits. These rates will be used to determine the percent of SNAP benefits each state will be burdened with, following sweeping cuts to the program made last summer. As many as 36 states and territories will be subject to that benefit cost share beginning in October 2027. The following is a statement from George Kelemen, senior vice president for Share Our Strength and its No Kid Hungry campaign:
“This data makes one thing clear: the vast majority of states will soon be on the hook for millions, if not billions, of dollars in order to continue providing SNAP benefits, a financial pressure on state budgets both significant and widespread. States are simply unable to absorb these enormous new costs Congress has created for them, leaving SNAP in jeopardy and America facing a preventable national hunger crisis.
“This marks an existential threat to our most powerful anti-hunger program. Most states could be forced to cut funding for SNAP or other essential services, and at least four states have said they may be unable to continue administering SNAP entirely if this benefit cost shift goes into effect. This means millions of eligible kids and their families will lose access to vital grocery benefits.
“The data reinforces what we’ve been saying for months: Congress must at the very least delay these cuts and give states more time to prepare and balance their budgets while maintaining access to this critical program. With the opportunity in front of them right now amidst Farm Bill negotiations, this should be a no-brainer.
“Most states were making progress in reducing administrative mistakes to lower their payment error rates well before the benefit cost threat was signed into law, and yesterday’s numbers show that trend continuing. These punitive measures will not help states continue to lower their error rates; they’ll simply make it harder for them to provide critical grocery benefits at a time when 1 in 3 parents with low incomes are already struggling to afford enough food for their kids.
“Congress has created a problem only it can solve by rolling back these detrimental changes or by giving all states more time to lower their error rates before this bill comes due.”
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.