What’s the proposal?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a rule that would take away SNAP food assistance from an estimated 3.1 million people nationwide and jeopardize school meals for 1 million students by restricting a policy known as “broad-based categorical eligibility.” In short, states can use this policy to adjust the income cutoffs in SNAP so that working families don’t abruptly lose their SNAP benefits when they earn slightly more money. This policy also allows states to adjust the asset limit so that families, older adults, and people with disabilities aren’t at risk of losing their SNAP benefits if they save a little bit of money.
Who does this harm?
Restricting categorical eligibility punishes people who are trying to work more hours, get a better-paying job, or save more money so that an unexpected bill or illness doesn’t push them under water. This proposal also hurts kids’ access to school meals because children in households that receive SNAP are automatically eligible for free school meals without having to complete a separate application. Without categorical eligibility, children whose families lose SNAP when their incomes rise above the cutoff would also lose their automatic eligibility for free school meals.
What does this mean for Colorado?
The proposed changes would lower SNAP income eligibility guidelines in Colorado, require more SNAP participants to face a resource test, and decrease the number of families served through the program each month. The Colorado Department of Human Services estimates that this proposal would take SNAP benefits away from 33,000 Coloradans in a given month and impact 90,000 Coloradans over the course of a year. These changes would cause the most harm to families with children and older adults; of those affected in Colorado, 2 in 3 live in a household with children, 1 in 3 are children, and 1 in 5 are older adults.
What can you do?
Submit a comment opposing the rule! The Trump Administration must review public comments on this proposal before it can finalize the rule changes. Speak out against the proposal by commenting before the November 1st deadline. Visit hungerfreecolorado.org/advocate or text HFC COMMENT to 52886 to submit your comment.
For a PDF version of this article, click here.