Texas SNAP access declines following federal cuts
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Participation in Texas' Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has fallen by nearly 14% since Congress approved cuts and changes to the program, per state data.
Why it matters: Food prices have been on the rise, and food banks are rushing to meet rising demand to fill in the gaps.
By the numbers: In May 2025, more than 1.6 million Texans were using SNAP, Texas Health and Human Services data shows. By May, the most recent available month, the number fell to nearly 1.4 million Texans, a drop of more than 223,000 people.
- In Bexar County, the number of SNAP cases fell 13%, by more than 17,000 people.
Catch up quick: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed into law in July 2025 and included cuts to SNAP funding, stricter work requirements for SNAP participants and more cost burden for states in some cases.
- People are removed from SNAP after three months if they aren't working at least 30 hours per week. Feeding Texas, the state association of food banks, says people struggle to meet the administrative requirements even if they are working.
The other side: "A lot of that is fraud," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said about a national drop in SNAP participation. "A lot of it is people taking the program that shouldn't have been. And a lot of it is just a better economy."
What they're saying: Feeding Texas says the data "strongly suggests" that new restrictions are making it harder for eligible Texans to stay enrolled.
- "Texans are facing higher prices for basic groceries like milk, beef and vegetables," Celia Cole, chief executive officer of Feeding Texas, said in a statement.
- "SNAP is designed to be a temporary bridge that helps families afford food during tough times, but recently we have seen fewer people able to access this critical support."
Plus: Starting Oct. 1, 2027, states with payment error rates above 6% will begin paying 5%-15% of SNAP costs.
- Texas' payment error rate for fiscal year 2025 was over 9%.
- That means the state could begin paying about $709 million in benefit costs, per Feeding Texas.
State of play: The Trump administration has said that payment error rates are evidence of fraud and waste within SNAP.
- Feeding Texas says payment errors are not always an indication of fraud, and can result from changes in income or household makeup. The association wants Congress to delay the cost-sharing by two years to give states a chance to improve before paying higher costs.
Context: The rate of people facing food insecurity — meaning they can't access enough food due to a lack of money or other resources — in Bexar County is nearly 19%, per the latest estimates from Feeding America. Of those who are food insecure, about 39% are eligible for SNAP.
- About 46% of those eligible for SNAP in Bexar County were receiving the benefits as of May, the state data shows.
The bottom line: Food banks and charitable programs can't match the scale of a federal program like SNAP, Cole said.