Arizona SNAP Enrollment Drops 50% After Expanded Work Requirements and Federal Funding Changes

President Donald Trump signed the law referred to as his “big, beautiful bill” nearly a year before May 11, 2026, during a Fourth of July celebration. The legislation extends tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while cutting $187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next decade.

5 million people have fallen off the SNAP rolls nationwide as of January, according to federal data.

No state has seen a steeper decline than Arizona, where the number of people receiving food stamps has fallen by around 50 percent as of March compared with a year earlier, including about 200,000 children who have lost their benefits, according to state data.

Arizona has expanded work requirements for SNAP and increased documentation requirements, moves implemented more rapidly than in other states. The expanded work requirements mandate that able-bodied adults under age 65 must work at least 80 hours a month unless they care for a child under age 14, @NBCNews reported.

Tiffany Hudson, a single mother in Phoenix who had received about $600 a month in SNAP benefits, had her benefits for herself and her two children cut off three months before May 11, 2026. Hudson works around 50 hours a month as a part-time caretaker and is primary caretaker for two young children, one autistic. m.

With a backpack of paperwork, only to be told after four hours that she needed a written statement from her father confirming a Zelle birthday transfer was a one-time gift. “It’s been really hard. We’ve been going to food banks every week,” Hudson said.

Dawn Savinski, 62, of Arizona had her $238 monthly SNAP benefits cut off because she was not meeting the 80-hour work requirement. At 62 and newly retired from cleaning jobs because of deteriorating health but not legally disabled, Savinski said, “They told me I was an able-bodied adult and had to work.

” Cricket Shiloh Anderson, 79, had her $24 monthly SNAP benefits stopped several months before May 11, 2026.

Had her SNAP benefits and those for her three children, ages 8, 9, and 10, stopped in December without explanation. “It’s impacting us tremendously,” Benedict said. ’” Jena Hannon, who is disabled and uses a walker and wheelchair, lost her $528 monthly SNAP benefits for herself and her husband in November due to paperwork issues during a government shutdown.

“I have heart issues and seizures, and I’ve been in and out of the hospital, so I have a hard time getting to the food stamp office,” Hannon said. St. Mary’s Food Bank in Arizona has seen demand increase an average of 12 percent across the state over the past year.

Demand at St. Mary’s Food Bank is up as much as 25 percent over the past year in some rural Arizona counties, according to Milton Liu, head of St. The food bank distributes 250,000 meals a day across Arizona.

More than 900 people passed through St. m. m. on a recent Tuesday. More than 1,000 cars went through St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix on April 29. ” The Arizona Department of Economic Security laid off around 400 workers last July due to federal funding cuts.

Monika Spencer, a former Arizona Department of Economic Security SNAP processor, was laid off last July and had her own SNAP application denied in March due to documentation issues. “We were already understaffed as it was,” Spencer said. 8 percent in fiscal year 2024 and is projected to be around 10 percent in fiscal year 2025.

If Arizona’s payment error rate stays above 6 percent, it could face as much as $208 million in SNAP costs starting in late 2027, according to a state analysis in September. 4 million toward overtime, technology improvements, and hiring new staff after the July layoffs.

One hundred twenty new workers started at Arizona Department of Economic Security in March and 300 workers are currently in training.

Arizona Gov. 4 million from the state Legislature to address costs from the federal changes. Brett Bezio, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, said the agency acknowledges that many families are awaiting critical assistance and that processing delays are driven in large part by the requirements in the law.

The White House said the law restores basic work requirements, prioritizes American citizens, and cracks down on waste, fraud, and abuse. “President Trump is strengthening SNAP for the Americans who need it by ensuring these programs are sustainable for future generations,” said Anna Kelly, White House spokesperson.

Other states have seen SNAP enrollment declines as of January: 24 percent in Georgia and 12 percent in Virginia and Tennessee, according to federal data.

Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said the timing of the cuts is particularly difficult. Joseph Llobrera, senior director of research at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said the human cost is likely to continue mounting as need rises.

U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees SNAP at the federal level.