Thousands of SNAP recipients in Pennsylvania are beginning to lose their benefits.

In January, over 4 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) across the United States began to face reductions in their benefits, a shift prompted by new regulations introduced under the Trump administration’s One Big, Beautiful Bill Act. This alteration impacts approximately 1 million children nationally and has reverberated through states such as Pennsylvania, where an estimated 144,000 of the nearly 2 million residents relying on SNAP will experience changes to their benefits, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Within Pennsylvania, the city of Philadelphia has been hit the hardest, with around 45,000 residents affected, a figure exceeding that of any other county in the state. Other regions experiencing significant impacts include Bucks County with about 3,300 individuals, Chester County with around 1,000, Delaware County with approximately 5,700, and Montgomery County with 2,300 residents affected.

The adjustments stem from a series of regulatory changes within the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which revises long-standing exemptions for certain low-income demographics. Traditionally, childless adults under the age of 55 and without disabilities were exempt from the requirement to work 20 hours per week to qualify for SNAP benefits, a provision that had been waived for many years due to high poverty and unemployment rates. Under the new legislation, this waiver is only applicable in areas facing an unemployment rate of at least 10%. As of November, Philadelphia’s unemployment rate stood at 4.8%, indicating the challenges residents face in navigating the revised rules.

Under the amended policy, the age limit for exemption from work requirements has been extended. Previously, individuals aged 55 and older could access SNAP benefits without adhering to work stipulations. Now, that threshold has been increased to 64 years old. Additionally, the stipulations surrounding parents with dependent children have shifted; previously, adults with children aged 18 and under were exempt, but this has been adjusted to apply only to those with children under the age of 14.

The repercussions of these changes are set to expand further. Starting in March, a new demographic—including veterans, the homeless, and youths aging out of foster care—will be subjected to the 20-hour work requirement from which they were previously exempt. As these sweeping changes unfold, experts have expressed concern regarding the difficulty in tracking who is losing benefits amid the rapid shift.

Organizations such as Community Legal Services, which assist low-income individuals, have noted the overwhelming impact of these regulatory changes. As additional groups prepare to lose their benefits throughout the year, advocates are striving to understand the full scope of this situation and how it will affect the most vulnerable populations in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Overall, the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act represents a significant overhaul of SNAP policies, raising questions about food security and access to essential resources for millions of individuals and families nationwide.

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