The falling enrollment figures have raised concerns about families relying on both food and health assistance. Although children are not directly subject to the expanded SNAP work requirements, changes affecting their parents and caregivers can disrupt household benefits. The situation is drawing particular attention as states prepare to implement additional eligibility rules for Medicaid recipients.
SNAP Participation Falls by 5.5 Million as Children Lose Benefits
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), SNAP participation declined by 5.5 million people, or 13 percent, between July 2025 and July 2026. Enrollment reached 36.1 million, its lowest level in 17 years and below the nearly 37 million recorded before the pandemic in February 2020.
The decline affected every state except Alaska. Participation fell by nearly 10 percent or more in 26 states, while eight states experienced reductions approaching or exceeding 20 percent.
Children represented a substantial share of those leaving the program. Data collected from 28 states showed that 1.5 million fewer children received SNAP benefits after July 2025. That accounted for 42 percent of the 3.7 million participants lost across those states.
The CBPP estimates that approximately 2 million children nationwide have stopped receiving assistance. The 2025 legislation expanded work requirements to additional recipients, including parents and caregivers whose children are 14 or older. It also restricted exemptions and changed eligibility for certain lawful immigrants.
The organization noted that national unemployment remained around 4 percent during the period, suggesting that improved employment conditions alone were unlikely to explain the enrollment decline.
The Department of Agriculture disputed attributing the reduction to one policy, telling Newsweek that participation fluctuates for multiple reasons and that some states experienced declines before the legislation took effect.
Medicaid Changes Raise Concerns About Further Disruptions to Family Benefits
The decline in food assistance comes alongside falling enrollment in public health insurance programs.
According to Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment among children declined by 2.56 million between January 2025 and August 2026.
In 26 states with comparable figures, child SNAP participation fell by 15.7 percent between January 2025 and May 2026, compared with a 6.3 percent reduction in Medicaid and CHIP enrollment.
One distinction is that children under 19 generally receive 12 months of continuous Medicaid or CHIP eligibility after qualifying, a protection without a universal equivalent in SNAP.
Beginning January 1, 2027, certain adults covered by Medicaid expansion and specified waiver programs will generally have to document 80 hours monthly of qualifying activities, including employment, education or community service.
Children are not directly covered by these requirements. Yet families participating in both programs may encounter additional administrative obligations, particularly in states operating integrated eligibility systems.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid work requirements will increase the uninsured population by 5.3 million over 10 years.
Meanwhile, states are preparing for another SNAP change: starting in October 2027, most will assume a portion of benefit costs linked to their payment error rates. The CBPP estimates those costs could total approximately $9 billion.
