Project Bread
For someone facing hunger, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—our country’s most effective and efficient response to hunger—can be the difference between having enough food and going without. But across Massachusetts, people who qualify for food assistance are struggling to get and keep their benefits—not because they haven’t followed the rules, but because an overwhelmed system is struggling to keep up.
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, introducing significant changes to federal food assistance and creating new barriers for people who rely on SNAP. At the same time, Massachusetts’ Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the agency responsible for administering SNAP, is struggling to keep up with the needs of the people it serves.
Reportedly, three out of four calls to DTA caseworkers go unanswered or are disconnected because of overwhelming call volumes.
For a household already struggling to afford groceries, that missed connection can have serious consequences. An application stalls. A recertification goes unprocessed. A case closes—even when someone has submitted the paperwork they were asked to provide.
And when food assistance disappears, the need for food does not.
Through the FoodSource Hotline, Project Bread is hearing from people who are eligible for SNAP, are trying to follow the process, and are still struggling to access the benefits they need.
We spoke with a part-time worker on Cape Cod who rents a room and applied for SNAP online in March. About a month before contacting Project Bread, they received a denial because of missing paperwork. The problem? They had submitted the documents multiple times: once online and three times by fax.
When they called Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline, they were still within the window to appeal. A Project Bread counselor helped them understand how to do so. But after repeatedly submitting the requested documents, they were understandably frustrated to find themselves facing a denial anyway.
As Khara Shearrion, Project Bread’s Senior Director of SNAP Outreach Programs, explains:
“We’re hearing from people who are giving up on applying. I’ve spoken to a couple people who have submitted every documentation known to mankind and have gotten a denial letter. That their case is closed despite sending in everything DTA has asked for.”
Shearrion says DTA is struggling to process cases within the necessary timelines amid overwhelming caseloads and the changes enacted through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. When people try to contact the agency to resolve a problem, they may be unable to get through.
No one should have to submit the same documents four times and still face the loss of food assistance. Yet without enough staff to process applications and respond to questions, people can be left navigating a system that seems impossible to reach.
These aren't abstract administrative problems. They are problems standing between a person and food for themselves and their children.
Another person who contacted Project Bread is a single man who had received SNAP consistently in the past.
After missing a recertification paperwork deadline, he needed to reapply. He submitted a new application online about three weeks before contacting Project Bread. But he had not received the required phone interview or follow-up information by mail or email.
He tried calling the DTA Assistance Line, only to encounter the wait-time message repeatedly.
Now, he is considering traveling to the DTA office in Holyoke to get answers in person. He does not have his own transportation, making that trip another obstacle to getting help.
His experience illustrates how quickly a routine process can become an exhausting series of barriers: submit an application, wait for an interview, call for answers, wait again, and then consider traveling to an office when other options fail.
For someone who needs SNAP to afford food, every delay makes it harder.
In Pittsfield, a man went to a DTA office in person to apply for SNAP. He had received benefits before and had not previously experienced problems with his applications.
During his visit, he completed his application, interview, and paperwork. The staff member he spoke with told him he should be all set to receive his benefits soon.
Three weeks later, his case still showed as pending in the app. No additional funds had been added to his EBT card.
Like the other caller, he tried contacting the DTA Assistance Line but repeatedly encountered the wait-time message. He is planning to return to the Pittsfield office to seek answers. In the meantime, he plans to visit local food pantries.
He had shown up, completed the process, and done what was asked of him. He was still waiting for the food assistance he needed and believed he qualified to receive.
These are not simply administrative delays. They are real barriers between people and food. And they are whyMassachusetts needs to ensure DTA has the staffing and resources to do its job.
For more than a year, Project Bread has been advocating alongside the Make Hunger History Coalition at the State House and with legislators for the funding DTA needs to help people get and keep SNAP benefits.
The need is urgent. Nearly 200,000 Massachusetts residents, including 70,000 children, have fallen off SNAP over the past year, since the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Meanwhile, the Greater Boston Food Bank estimates that 40% of Massachusetts households experienced food insecurity in 2025, compared with 19% in 2019.
SNAP reaches people across generations and circumstances. About one in four Massachusetts SNAP recipients is aged 60 or older, and more than one in four SNAP households includes at least one child.
For seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, working adults, and families with children, access to food assistance can be essential to making ends meet. Massachusetts cannot afford to let an overwhelmed system become another barrier to the support people need.
The FY27 supplemental budget presents an opportunity to address DTA’s staffing needs and strengthen access to SNAP.
As a direct result of our advocacy alongside our partners, and you – who sent more than 700 messages to the legislature demanding action, on October 20, 2026, the House Ways and Means Committee’s supplemental budget included a significant increase in funding for DTA. On October 29, the Senate released a supplemental budget matching the House’s proposed $176.6 million investment in the department.
These developments mark meaningful progress in the effort to secure the resources DTA needs. But the work is not finished.
The Massachusetts Legislature has the opportunity to approve a supplemental budget that provides the funding necessary to strengthen DTA staffing and help eligible residents access and maintain their benefits. Project Bread is urging the governor and state leaders to ensure this investment meets the needs of the people who depend on SNAP.
When eligible residents cannot access their benefits, families lose vital purchasing power, Massachusetts loses federal dollars that support local economies and businesses, and the burden on food banks and other emergency food providers grows. At a time when food insecurity is already widespread, ensuring residents can access SNAP is critical to helping families put food on the table and strengthening our local communities.
Project Bread is calling on Governor Healey to approve an FY27 supplemental budget that provides $176.6 million for additional DTA caseworkers and protects access to SNAP for Massachusetts residents.
People should not have to submit the same paperwork four times, struggle to find transportation to an agency office, or repeatedly call a hotline just to access the food assistance they are eligible to receive.
Behind every unanswered call is a person waiting for help. Behind every delayed application is someone waiting for food.
With the right investment in DTA caseworkers, Massachusetts can to a solid step toward ensure that when residents reach to get or keep SNAP, someone is there to answer.
Your voice makes a difference in this moment. Send a message now to legislature asking they secure $176.6 M to hire additional DTA caseworkers at projectbread.org/act