AMNA NAWAZ: Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, has fallen sharply nationwide since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer.

There are over 38 million people getting the food assistance, but more than 3.5 million of them have lost access as states are implementing a series of new eligibility requirements and stricter processes for applying.

Our William Brangham has more on what's happening and the concerns.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That's right, Amna.

Last year's Republican center peace budget law is projected to cut $186 billion in federal spending on SNAP over the next decade.

But it's not only about funding cuts.

The new law changed eligibility criteria, like raising the age limit for work requirements from 54 to 64 and increasing the amount of documentation required to enroll.

Since then, every state has seen a decline in people enrolled in SNAP, led by Arizona, where participation has fallen by 51 percent, according to some estimates.

And those who are still eligible are receiving much lower benefits and often facing longer reauthorization times.

Here's what 27-year-old Presley Nassise told us about the experience.

He's a SNAP recipient, has a chronic illness, and works two jobs.

PRESLEY NASSISE, SNAP Recipient: I went from having a little over $200 a month for groceries from SNAP funds to having absolutely nothing for three months.

I lost weight.

I ate less.

I had one, 1.5 meals a day, instead of two or three.

I pinched pennies.

I saved food from the jobs I work at where they have free snacks.

I took things home.

And then when I was recertified, they renewed me for a significantly lower amount.

So I now get $50 a month.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: So, for more on the state of food assistance in America, we are joined now by Sara Naomi Bleich.

She's a professor of public health policy at Harvard and previously worked at the USDA during the Biden and Obama administrations.

Thank you so much for being here.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and others in the Trump administration have been celebrating this decline in SNAP benefits, arguing that it's happening because the economy is better, they argue, that wages are getting better, and that they're rooting out fraud.

How accurate is that?

SARA NAOMI BLEICH, Harvard University: So I would say that that's not accurate.

And thank you very much for having me.

So there are three main reasons why SNAP caseloads would decline.

One is that the economy improves, since SNAP is designed to get smaller when the economy gets better.

But the economy has not measurably improved since H.R.1 passed in July of 2025.

And we can all probably agree that affordability, including high costs of food, remain an enormous challenge for families in this country.

Another reason SNAP caseloads could decline is that the rules change, and, as a result, eligibility is constricted.

That has happened.

There are stricter time limits, meaning that folks have to prove they are working 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month to receive benefits.

And the number of people subject to those time limits has gone up a lot, and that greatly increases the paperwork burden, since, each month, individuals have to document their hours, and then the state has to certify it.

And the third reason that SNAP caseloads could decline is that states take actions which contract eligibility.

So states face an enormous fiscal penalty if they don't get their payment error rates under control.

So that refers to how much a person is under- or over-paid for their monthly SNAP benefits.

As a result, some states like Arizona are being overzealous in their implementation of the rules, making it much harder for eligible people to obtain or maintain benefits.

And at the same time, most states, including Arizona, are understaffed.

So they lack the capacity to process all this paperwork.

And so when a person is applying for the first time or recertifying or confirming their hours work to comply with the time limit, there is a 30-day deadline.

Even if an eligible person submits all the required information on time, if the state does not process it by the deadline, that person is automatically removed and has to start the process all over again.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I see.

What about the argument about fraud that they make, that this is -- the declining numbers are because people who should not be on the system are out of the system?

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: So, fraud is actually very low in the SNAP program.

It's about 1.6 percent, which is actually low relative to other federal safety net programs.

And the new rules actually don't target fraud at all.

They're targeting payment error rates, which is, again, referring to how much someone is over- or under-paid for their SNAP benefits.

And so these changes will have no impact on fraud rates, which are very low already in the SNAP program.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: There are other people who argue that this decline is also a sign of just a return to normalcy post-pandemic, that the pandemic caused all of this incredible need in the country, SNAP responded, but now we are moving back to a more normal period of life.

We talked to Jack Salmon.

He's at the conservative Mercatus Center.

Here's how he described this.

JACK SALMON, Mercatus Center, George Mason University: The SNAP program is -- it tends to be pretty cyclical.

So what that means is, during economic crises, like we saw in 2008-2009, when the unemployment rate goes up, we see the program participation also goes up with that, as families struggle more during times of economic strain.

What then happens after the crisis, as the unemployment rate comes down and the sort of business cycle improves, we then see the SNAP numbers come down as well.

But following the COVID pandemic, it remained elevated for quite a few years, really through the end of 2024.

And I think now we're seeing somewhat of a sharper return to normalcy.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: What do you make of that, return to normalcy?

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: So this is not a return to normalcy, because it is true that SNAP caseloads are going down, but they're decreasing for the wrong reasons.

They're not decreasing because all of a sudden we have a much stronger economy.

They're decreasing because what we're seeing is that eligible people are leaving the program because it's become too difficult to document and to maintain their eligibility.

And that is deeply concerning.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: As we heard from Presley Nassise earlier, describing just all of these different hoops, he also described having to submit all sorts of bank payments from Venmo and cash apps and letters from neighbors testifying to the fact that he was actually living in the conditions that he described.

How much of this -- I mean, the landscape has really, seemingly changed for people who want to participate in the program.

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: Yes.

And states have made it -- states are introducing a lot more -- I won't say that there are additional rules, but states are making it harder for people to submit the necessary paperwork.

So there's all the things you have to submit, which is a big challenge for people that are trying to participate or maintain in the program.

That's one challenge.

But another challenge is, then all this paperwork comes in and states have to process it.

And just about every state is facing major staffing challenges, which makes it hard then to process everything on time.

And if it's not processed on time, within that 30-day requirement, folks are going to fall off the program.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And what do you make of the argument that some might argue, which is, it's good to have these kinds of strictures, it's a big, important program, we ought to make sure that only the people who really are deserving are in that program?

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: I wholeheartedly agree that it's important that we are good stewards of public dollars and we want to make sure that people that are in the program are in the program.

And that is largely the case.

What's happening is, these new rules are making it such that eligible people who should be in the program are unable to participate.

And that's not consistent with the mission of SNAP.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Going forward, if there are no changes and we stay in this current protocol, what do you imagine happening with SNAP benefits in the country?

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: We're going to see many, many fewer families have access to benefits.

So, just between the period of July of 2025 and February of 2026, so about six months, 3.5 million people lost access to benefits.

That is likely going to increase.

And with that means that people will have higher rates of food insecurity, meaning they don't have enough to eat.

And if you have higher food insecurity, your health is at risk.

You have higher likelihood of heart disease and diabetes and obesity.

And so we are likely to see that people will not only lack resources, but there will be negative health and even economic effects because of these changes.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Sara Naomi Bleich of Harvard University, thank you so much for being here.

SARA NAOMI BLEICH: Thank you for having me.