SNAP cuts will deal a blow to low-income households in the US

The budget reconciliation bill (One Big Beautiful Bill) that became law earlier this month makes significant cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), although the cuts are less severe than the $295bn in the original House-passed bill. The bulk of the SNAP savings in the final bill comes from expanded work requirements, shifting some costs to the states, and changes to the program’s Thrifty Food Plan, which is used to ensure benefits keep pace with the cost of a frugal but healthy diet.

• SNAP benefits support about 13% of household spending on food at home; we expect that share to fall to 8% by 2034.
• We expect low-income households to respond to SNAP benefit cuts by reducing their spending on discretionary goods and services.
• The OBBBA achieves about $65bn of its savings by shifting some costs of the program to states. States could respond in a variety of ways, including shifting funding away from other programs, cutting other spending or reducing SNAP benefits.