Why SNAP Access Is in Crisis in Massachusetts—and How to Fix It

Since the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, roughly 196,000 people across Massachusetts have lost SNAP benefits—the support many families need to afford groceries. 

To put that number in perspective, 196,000 people could fill Fenway Park more than five times over. 

That’s more than a statistic. It represents hundreds of thousands of people across Massachusetts who have lost an important source of support for putting food on the table. 

The federal nutrition program, SNAP, is our country’s most effective and efficient response to hunger. Providing 9 meals for every 1 a food bank provides, SNAP is proven to reduce food insecurity and lift people out of poverty (Feeding America). 

At its peak enrollment in July 2024, SNAP helped more than 1.1 million people in Massachusetts afford groceries. By July 2026, that number had fallen to fewer than 900,000—a decline of more than 21%. Children have been hit especially hard. They make up more than one-third of Massachusetts residents who have lost SNAP benefits since 2024, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance. 

It’s important not to mistake a decline in the number of people receiving SNAP for a decline in need.  

Every day, counselors on Project Bread’s FoodSource Hotline hear from people struggling to put food on the table, making painful trade-offs and going to extraordinary lengths to feed themselves and their families amid rising food prices. 

The reality is that fewer people receiving SNAP can mean fewer families have access to an important source of help when they need it most. And this is happening at a time when families are feeling the squeeze of higher grocery prices and the rising cost of everyday essentials. For many households, SNAP makes it possible for there to be enough food for their family. 

The Greater Boston Food Bank estimates that 40% of Massachusetts households experienced food insecurity in 2025, compared with 19% in 2019.  

At the same time, the job market isn’t providing much relief. Massachusetts’ unemployment rate actually ticked up slightly, from 4.1% in July 2024 to 4.4% in July 2026. And the burden isn’t being felt equally: Black and Hispanic/Latino(a) residents continue to experience higher rates of unemployment, according to the Massachusetts Department of Economic Research. 

When you look at these trends together, it’s hard to argue that the sharp decline in SNAP enrollment reflects a drop in need. Food insecurity is rising, and unemployment has edged up — not down. 

Instead, most of the decline is because of federal policy changes that have kicked people off and made it harder for people who are eligible to keep access to SNAP. 

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed a massive spending plan known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Republicans in Congress that includes the largest ever cuts to food access and healthcare.  Although the Administration laid claim that they were not “cutting” SNAP, the One Big Beautiful Bill included several policy changes that directly affect eligibility for SNAP.  

It expanded work requirements to include: 

• Parents and caregivers of children aged 14 and older; a change from 18 and older (CBPP). 

• Older adults up to age 65; a change from adults aged 55 and up (CBPP). 

• Decreased ability to waive the time limit for areas with limited job opportunities (CBPP). 

• No exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth (CBPP). 

These expanded work requirements were estimated to impact nearly 100,000 people in Massachusetts.  

The bill also removed SNAP eligibility for many legally present immigrants, such as: refugees, political asylees, victims of human trafficking, and survivors of domestic violence (Mass Legal Services). State data originally estimated this change could strip SNAP away from roughly 9,600 legally present immigrants. 

The policy changes in this bill have significantly reduced the number of households and families that are eligible for SNAP, with families losing SNAP on a rolling basis as they are required to recertify their eligibility.  

Just before these sweeping eligibility changes took effect, a COVID-era waiver expired, reinstating the requirement that people complete an interview with Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) caseworkers to recertify their benefits. The timing added further strain to an already overburdened system. 

That puts SNAP caseworkers at DTA at the center of an administrative system undergoing enormous change. These DTA workers are the frontline staff responsible for helping Massachusetts residents apply for and keep the food assistance they need. 

With eligibility rules changing, new requirements being added, and recertification becoming more time-consuming, caseworkers are facing a huge increase in workload. The result is a system under strain: calls are going unanswered, paperwork and recertifications can take longer to process, and some eligible households are losing their SNAP benefits—not necessarily because they no longer qualify, but because they are unable to successfully navigate an increasingly complicated process or reach the people whose help they require. 

The charts below show that the rate of decline escalated when the policies changes from the One Big Beautiful Bill were implemented in November 2025.  

Among key populations, the decline in the number of children enrolled in SNAP has been the most extreme, with enrollment for seniors and disabled clients staying relatively stable. 

Eligible households are losing their SNAP benefits—not necessarily because they no longer qualify, but because they are unable to successfully navigate an increasingly complicated process or reach the people whose help they require.

SNAP is a powerful tool for fighting poverty, especially for families with children. The 2026 Census Bureau report on poverty found that, nationally, in 2025 SNAP lifted 3.1 million families, including 1.2 million children out of poverty (US Census Bureau). Children who have access to SNAP are more likely to have better health outcomes, and to be food secure as adults.  

One study estimated that every SNAP dollar invested in a child returns an estimated $62 in lifelong value to society, due to improved educational outcomes, higher earnings, increased tax revenue, and increased life expectancy (CBPP). There is a clear benefit for maintaining SNAP access, particularly for families with children.  

As the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill continue to result in children being removed from SNAP in Massachusetts, the impacts will be harmful and long-lasting. Massachusetts has the second highest cost of living in the country (Mass.gov). Massachusetts families already juggle high costs of housing, childcare, utilities, healthcare, transportation, and of course food. Now that families with children over 14 are no longer exempt from SNAP work requirements, families must choose how to manage their time and budgets with fewer resources. They may have to choose between going back to work and losing time caring for their children or losing SNAP benefits and their ability to feed their families. This policy shift treats children ages 14-17 as though they no longer need the continued support and care of their parents and caregivers. Even for families who can meet the work requirement, the added administrative burden on both families and the DTA, the state agency that administers SNAP, could prevent eligible Massachusetts families from receiving benefits.   

The decline in SNAP enrollment in Massachusetts—especially among children—is a deeply concerning shift, and it’s one that Project Bread is committed to fighting. 

Everyone who meets the eligibility requirements for SNAP has a right to receive these benefits. But right now, Massachusetts is not fully upholding that right for its residents. 

One major part of the problem is understaffing at DTA. DTA’s workforce has not kept pace with the growing demands of the SNAP program. According to MLRI, before the pandemic, from state fiscal years 2015 through 2019, a single caseworker managed about 850 SNAP cases at a time. Today, that number has climbed to approximately 1,300 cases per caseworker—about 50% more. 

That increase has real consequences. When caseworkers are stretched too thin, there’s less time to answer calls, process applications and recertifications, resolve problems, and make sure eligible families continue receiving the benefits they’re entitled to.  

Since January 2026, an average of 77% of calls to speak with a live agent at the DTA, were given a high-volume message and disconnected. For families trying to put food on the table, that can mean weeks or even months of waiting for answers and help—and, in some cases, having their benefits cut off altogether. 

One parent in Greater Boston described the experience this way: 

“I need help with DTA because they miscalculated my income after my recertification... They never picked up phone calls. You can keep calling them straight for 2 months back to back—they will never pick up your phone calls. I even left a note on the DTA app since January for a call back, and they never reviewed it or got back to me. It's really frustrating.” 

Additionally, with this decline in SNAP enrollment, Massachusetts is losing $30 million per month in federal money that would otherwise be spent in local grocery stores and other local businesses. 

The Massachusetts legislature has an opportunity to strengthen access to SNAP by investing in the staff and resources needed to help residents access their benefits. 

For over a year, Project Bread has been leading advocacy efforts alongside the Make Hunger History Coalition to secure the additional staffing needed at DTA to help Massachusetts residents get and keep SNAP. 

On October 21, 2026, the House Ways and Means Committee’s supplemental budget included a significant increase in funding for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), marking an important step toward addressing barriers to SNAP access across the Commonwealth. 

This investment comes at a critical time. Since the passage of the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 196,000 people in Massachusetts have lost SNAP access. At the same time, DTA caseworkers are managing increased administrative demands, making adequate staffing essential to ensuring eligible residents can access the food assistance they need. 

This investment would provide DTA $176.5 million for caseworkers. This funding could support the hiring of approximately 200 additional caseworkers, helping reduce administrative strain, improve access to benefits, and ensure families receive timely assistance. 

The House’s inclusion of increased DTA funding is an important step forward. Continued legislative action is needed to ensure the agency has the capacity to meet residents’ needs and that eligible households do not face unnecessary barriers to food assistance. 

The next step is for the Massachusetts Senate to include this funding commitment in its supplemental budget. Sustained investment in DTA is essential to strengthening the Commonwealth’s safety net and helping families put food on the table and would help to: 

• Fix the unprecedented challenges residents are facing when they try to reach DTA for help. 

• Increase access to SNAP so more eligible households can receive the food assistance they need. 

• Improve accuracy and efficiency and help reduce or eliminate new costs to the state. 

• Bring up to $500 million in federal funds into Massachusetts to support families and businesses. 

• Shorten the lines at food pantries that are already overwhelmed by growing demand. 
   

No one should go hungry because they can’t get through to the agency responsible for helping them access food assistance. 

Federal policy changes have created enormous challenges for families across Massachusetts. But our state has a choice in how it responds. Massachusetts can make sure that eligible residents are able to access the benefits they have a legal right to receive—and that DTA caseworkers have the resources they need to make that possible. 

We need our state leaders to step up and protect SNAP access. 

Join us in calling on the Massachusetts Legislature to fund more DTA caseworkers and give these frontline workers the resources they need to help Massachusetts families keep the food assistance they deserve. This is critical, solid first step to solving the SNAP access crisis in Massachusetts.

Your voice matters, and it only takes a few minutes to make a difference. 

Send a message to the House thanking them for their support and a message to the Senate urging: Invest $176.5 million in DTA so people can get the SNAP help they need.