Why are 700,000 Americans losing access to SNAP?

Last year, the USDA proposed a new rule for the SNAP/CalFresh program that would take away food assistance from 700,000 Americans, including as many as 25,000 San Diegans like George. The rule change was touted by the USDA as a work incentive, although research has shown repeatedly that taking away food assistance reduces productivity and ability to work.

The rule is set to go into effect on April 1, 2020.

By current federal policy, anyone who is between the ages of 18 and 49 who is not the primary caregiver for a child, elderly, or disabled person, and is not disabled, must work a minimum of 80 hours per month to receive federal food assistance. If these requirements aren’t met, a person can only receive federal food assistance for three months within a three-year period.

States have had the flexibility to provide SNAP/CalFresh benefits to ABAWDs by applying for waivers for areas of high unemployment or using individual exemptions for special cases. The new rule will effectively remove a state’s ability to address regional differences in employment levels. It will also revoke states’ ability to award SNAP/CalFresh eligibility to Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs) on a case-by-case basis.

In general, the new rule does not take into account regional differences in job markets or the challenges that currently prevent low-income Americans from working living-wage jobs. Low unemployment rates can be misleading. Many unemployed or underemployed ABAWDs find themselves in situations outside of their control.

Although San Diego boasts a low unemployment rate, ABAWDs who cannot secure enough work to meet the SNAP/CalFresh work requirements face several barriers. Large segments of San Diego’s job market are seasonal. From agriculture to hospitality and tourism, some of our major industries only provide work for part of the year. This means that a large portion of available jobs simply dry up every year for months.

The new rule also doesn’t take into account rural residents who are unable to travel the 30 to 60 minutes required to get to a job center or those with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed physical and mental barriers that prevent consistent employment. These are the instances in which case-by-case exemptions are used to help those who have fallen through the cracks of an imperfect system.

The Trump Administration’s new ABAWD work requirement rules will only worsen an already bad situation throughout the United States with no plans in place to account for the sudden increase in hunger that will result from this misguided attempt to increase self-sufficiency. The San Diego Hunger Coalition, along with its over 100 state and local partners, opposed the rule when it was first proposed, and will continue to work together to minimize the harm that will result from the rule’s implementation in April 2020.

Learn how we’re fighting this cut to SNAP/CalFresh . . .

Learn about the people who will be affected by the rule change . . .