Texas SNAP participation drops to a 17-year low as the feds tighten eligibility
By Jess Huff and Sasha Draeger-Mazer, The Texas Tribune
October 23, 2026
The number of Texans receiving food stamps has hit a 17-year low as the federal government tightens eligibility and the state struggles to process applications in a timely manner.
There were 2.8 million Texans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in September, which is the lowest enrollment number since August 2009, according to most recent data available from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Nationally, SNAP enrollment is also at a 17-year low. Experts believe the drop stems from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress last year that requires more people to work to remain eligible and penalizes states for high error rates of overpaying or underpaying recipients. Compared to September 2025, Texas’ SNAP enrollment dropped 20.8% — the steepest year-over-year decline of the last two decades.
Meanwhile, HHSC, which oversees SNAP and Medicaid applications, stares down a growing backlog of unreviewed applications. In September, the state processed 64% of SNAP applications in a timely manner — within 30 days — which is significantly lower than last September when the timeliness rate was 91%. The federal government requires states to process 95% of applications in a timely manner or the state risks losing federal funding.
“The declines aren’t the result of people leaving the program because they no longer need it, or because they found work,” said Celia Cole, the CEO of Feeding Texas, a statewide network of food banks. “At the same time that you’re seeing this record low enrollment, we’re seeing record high need in our communities. More people need help, and really people need deeper help.”
HHSC told The Texas Tribune it will continue to help eligible Texans receive food and healthcare benefits, and enforce work requirements. The agency did not provide an explanation for what’s driving down enrollment.
“New SNAP mandates require a thorough review of each case to ensure program integrity and accuracy,” said Guillermo Zenizo Lindsey, an assistant press officer for the agency. “HHSC will continue supporting eligible Texas families as quickly as possible.”
Compared to September 2025, enrollment has dropped in every age group.
Children, who make up the majority of SNAP recipients at 1.4 million, have been hit the hardest.
The number of children under the age of 5 enrolled in SNAP has never been this low in more than 20 years, according to the data. Children make up more than half of the enrollment losses since September 2025.
Individuals and families qualify for SNAP if they make below a certain threshold for income. For example, a family of four qualifies if they make $4,421 a month or less. Enrollees typically stay on the program for about a year, on average. Enrollment typically increases in times of hardship. More people enrolled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and states will see more applications around natural disasters or economic downturns.
“(SNAP is) that temporary bridge to stability for people and for our economy and for our producers,” Cole said.
What’s causing the drop
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), some people are no longer eligible for SNAP, including refugees. Undocumented immigrants cannot receive SNAP benefits, but under the OBBBA many lawful migrants have also lost eligibility.
The bill also put new work requirements on people who hadn’t had those requirements before.
In 1996, federal lawmakers determined that able-bodied childless adults under 54 were required to work a certain number of hours a month to receive SNAP benefits. If they failed to meet that requirement for three months or more in a three-year period, they lost eligibility. OBBBA expanded that work requirement to parents of children under 13 as well as people up to 64 years old.
Cole said some folks between the ages of 55 and 64 were struggling with the new work requirements, especially those who hadn’t had to work prior to this and were out of the labor force for years.
The bill also set the stage for cost-sharing between the federal government and states. Currently, the federal government covers the cost of SNAP benefits. If Texas doesn’t lower its current error rate of nearly 9% to below 6%, Texas could face up to $2 billion in additional costs over the 2028-2029 state budget cycle.
Texas HHSC Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth said in her 2028-29 budget request to the Legislature that bringing down the SNAP error rate was her top priority.
“Every improvement in accuracy helps protect taxpayer dollars and reduce the state’s exposure to these new costs,” she said. “HHSC has launched a comprehensive effort focused on improving eligibility accuracy, strengthening quality controls, and leveraging technology to reduce errors and mitigate the financial impact of these program changes on Texas taxpayers.”
Advocacy groups say this move to lower the error rate has resulted in a significant backlog in both SNAP and Medicaid applications, which are reviewed by the same staff. Those groups fear that HHSC’s changes are leading to eligible people getting cut off from these federal benefits.
Diana Forester, the director of health policy for Texans Care for Children, said lawmakers need to stop the bureaucratic breakdowns causing delays and ensure eligible Texans get the help they need.
“We don’t want kids or seniors going to bed hungry because state workers can’t get through the stack of SNAP applications piling up in their office,” Forester said.
Impact of the drop
Nationwide, children account for close to half of the number of people who are no longer receiving SNAP, according to data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Parents have to engage in a complicated application system for themselves and their children, and new requirements have made it more onerous. Parents have told the Tribune that they are waiting months to learn that they were declined benefits. Data for reapplications shows it taking several months for applications to be reviewed in some cases.
That loss impacts more than just the food being available to those children at home. Obtaining SNAP automatically qualifies children for free school lunches and puts those children near the top of the waitlist for subsidized child care, if their parents apply.
Low SNAP enrollment is also hitting rural areas, where SNAP participation rates are higher, Forester said.
Brookshire Brothers, a grocery conglomerate with stores across Texas and western Louisiana, is the only source of food in many parts of rural East Texas. Those stores are seeing significantly reduced SNAP spending after OBBBA went into effect.
“We recognize that when families have fewer resources to put toward groceries, the impact extends beyond their households and into the communities we call home,” said Melissa Crager, the public relations and corporate responsibility manager for Brookshire Brothers.
More people are turning to their local food banks for support, especially as the affordability crisis hits the wallets of low-income families harder. Many food banks associated with Feeding Texas are struggling to keep up with demand and are implementing restrictions on how often people can visit or what they can take.
To help with this, Brookshire Brothers has pushed East Texans to support its Brown Bag of Hope program. A customer can buy a bag for $10 that can feed a family of four, and the store takes that food to a local food bank or distribution center. The company sent out more than 4,000 bags over the summer.
“While we know these efforts cannot meet every need, we are committed to finding practical, grassroots ways to support families, strengthen our communities and help ensure our neighbors have access to food,” Crager said.
Sasha Draeger-Mazer contributed to this story.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.