Food Benefit Limits Take Full Force as Shutdown Lapse Approaches

Oct. 31, 2025, 9:30 AM UTC

The Trump administration’s enforcement of who’s eligible to receive federal food aid, under changes made by a Republican tax cuts and spending law, goes into full force on Saturday.

States will emerge from a grace period during which the Agriculture Department didn’t count mistakes in determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program according to new work requirements the GOP measure (Public Law 119-21) mandated earlier this year.

Saturday marks a permanent change to the program’s accessibility and coincides with the first time more than 41 million Americans may not receive SNAP benefits during a government shutdown. The ...

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