An estimated 500,000 people, more than 1 percent of current food stamp recipients, will be cut off SNAP beginning in October with the return of the 90-day limit on benefits for some able-bodied adults, said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The figure may actually be closer to 1 million people, said the think tank — about 2.4 percent of the 42.3 million enrolled in SNAP at latest count.
Since the enactment of welfare reform in 1996, so-called ABAWDs — able-bodied adults without dependents from ages 18 to 50 — have been limited to three months of SNAP benefits in a three-year period unless they work at least 80 hours a month. The requirement was waived during the pandemic but will be reinstated in October in 43 states.
The Center on Budget said the work requirement was ineffective in generating employment — “Most SNAP recipients who can work, do,” it said — but would trip up low-income people who are between jobs, are ill, have erratic hours, or have trouble filling out the forms in time.
“About 500,000 — and possibly closer to 1 million — of the nation’s lowest-income adults will be cut off SNAP beginning in October 2023, as the program’s work-reporting requirement returns after being temporarily suspended during the pandemic,” the group said. An additional 750,000 ABAWDs ages 51 to 55 will be subject to the 90-day restriction as part of the debt limit legislation enacted in June. The legislation created exemptions for veterans, homeless people, and young adults, up to 24 years old, who have “aged out” of the foster care system.