On a humid morning in Vidalia, Louisiana, a line of people stretched around a parking lot, each waiting for a box of food from the local food bank. For Shannan Cornwell and Freddie Green, who have been struggling with health issues and soaring grocery prices, these boxes have become a lifeline. But lately, the contents have diminished: no meat for months, less variety, and smaller packages. “You have to learn how to adapt to what you have,” Green explained to ProPublica, while Cornwell added, “Which is hard.”
Their experience is becoming increasingly common across the United States in 2025 as sweeping federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and related emergency food programs take effect. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, these changes stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a massive Republican-led law signed by President Donald Trump in the summer of 2025. The law, which also included business tax cuts and increased funding for immigration enforcement, has brought about the largest reduction to food stamps in the program’s history—slashing nearly $187 billion, or 20%, from SNAP through 2034, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.
For Oregon, the impact is immediate and far-reaching. On October 1, able-bodied adults without dependents in six populous counties—Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Yamhill, Benton, and Hood River—were required to meet new work requirements to maintain SNAP eligibility. Those not working or volunteering at least 80 hours a month now face a severe penalty: just three months of SNAP assistance over a three-year period. The Oregon Department of Human Services estimates that more than 313,000 of the state’s 757,000 SNAP recipients will be affected, with the rules expanding statewide in January 2026.
But it’s not just work requirements. The law raises the age limit for able-bodied adults without dependents from 55 to 65 and lowers the age threshold for dependents from 18 to 14, meaning parents of teens must also prove work or volunteer hours. Exemptions for people experiencing homelessness, veterans, and former foster youth have been removed, impacting tens of thousands. As of May 2025, roughly 24,300 homeless Oregonians, 209 former foster youth, and nearly 1,300 veterans lost their exemptions, according to state data.
Further, starting November 1, households receiving energy assistance will see SNAP reductions unless a member is both over 60 and disabled. The state expects 29,000 households to lose this benefit—an average cut of $58 per month. Refugees, asylum seekers, and other conditionally allowed immigrants are also being cut off, with 3,000 people expected to lose SNAP in Oregon alone due to changes in federal eligibility rules.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has voiced strong opposition to these changes. “Our top priority now is making sure every impacted Oregonian knows what’s changing and where to turn for help,” she said in a statement to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. “No one should have to choose between food and rent, and my administration is mobilizing to ensure that those affected get the information and referrals for other help that they need.”
While the new rules are meant to promote self-sufficiency, critics argue they will only increase food insecurity—at a time when food banks are already stretched thin. Morgan Dewey, spokesperson for the Oregon Food Bank, told the Capital Chronicle, “We are working tirelessly to stock shelves at food assistance sites across Oregon and Southwest Washington, but the reality is that these decisions mean less food for families and empty shelves at pantries.”
The situation is hardly unique to Oregon. ProPublica reports that between mid-May and September 2025, the Trump administration canceled 4,304 USDA food deliveries across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and D.C., totaling nearly 94 million pounds of meat, dairy, eggs, and produce. The Food Bank of Central Louisiana, for example, lost over $400,000 worth of food due to 10 canceled orders in 2025. Food banks, particularly those serving rural and high-poverty areas, have been forced to halve food package sizes and rely on less reliable produce donations, which often spoil before reaching those in need.
Demand for food assistance is at its highest since the Great Recession. According to ProPublica, many food banks now serve more people than they did at the peak of the pandemic. The canceled deliveries have left organizations scrambling. “We’re not turning people away with no food. It’s not to that point,” said Jayne Wright-Velez, executive director of the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. “But people are getting less food when they come to us.”
Adding to the strain, the USDA has introduced new proposed regulations for SNAP retailers. Announced by Secretary Brooke Rollins on October 14, 2025, the rules would require stores to increase the variety of foods in each staple category from three to seven, raising the total from 12 to 28 foods. While this could mean more healthy options for SNAP participants, smaller retailers may struggle to comply—potentially reducing the number of stores that accept SNAP and forcing beneficiaries to travel farther or pay higher prices. Rollins defended the changes, stating, “Retailers participating in SNAP need to sell real food, plain and simple. Right now, the bar for stocking food as a SNAP retailer is far too low, allowing people to game the system and leaving vulnerable Americans without healthy food options.”
Yet, there is concern that these new requirements will further limit access, especially in food deserts and rural communities. As one analysis noted, if small stores can’t meet the stocking rules, they may simply drop out as SNAP providers, making it even harder for low-income families to find affordable groceries.
The challenges don’t end there. Congressional reports estimate retailer fraud at $1.27 billion, and payment errors in fiscal year 2023 amounted to over $10 billion, with a national payment error rate of 11.68%. The Trump administration has justified cuts and new rules in part by pointing to these figures, arguing that reform is needed to ensure program integrity.
But as food banks and advocates point out, the human cost is mounting. Vivian Santiago, a SNAP recipient in Albuquerque, told ProPublica that her benefits card isn’t lasting even halfway through the month due to rising prices. Others, like Patricia Parker, who is homeless and disabled, depend on food banks just to avoid going days without food. “I won’t have to go days without food,” she said, grateful for even a small bag of groceries.
Meanwhile, the USDA has canceled its annual Household Food Security report, calling it “redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous.” Hunger advocates warn this will make it harder to track the real-world impact of these policy changes. Marlene Schwartz, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health at the University of Connecticut, remarked, “It feels like the idea is to make it harder to identify the consequences of the policy changes that we’re seeing right now.”
Experts caution that food banks cannot fill the gap left by SNAP cuts. Feeding America, a national network of food banks, estimates that for every meal they provide, SNAP delivers nine. As Christopher Bosso, a food policy expert at Northeastern University, told ProPublica, the growing need even before these changes take effect could be a “canary in the coal mine” for what’s to come.
With the Farm Bill up for renewal this fall, food bank officials and hunger advocates are bracing for what may be an even tougher year ahead. For now, families like Cornwell and Green’s, and millions of others across the country, are left to adapt to a shrinking safety net—hoping that, somehow, there will still be enough to go around.
