GREENFIELD — With the approval of the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act last week, which includes $1.2 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), regional food assistance agencies say they are anticipating negative impacts that will sprawl across many aspects of society.
The bill overhauls SNAP by requiring adults to work until they turn 65, rather than 55, as well as requiring states to shoulder administrative costs and a portion of food assistance benefits beginning in 2027 — a shift that could cost Massachusetts an extra $53.3 million annually, according to the governor’s office.
The cuts to SNAP, according to the Congressional Budget Office, are projected to save $186 billion in federal spending over the next decade. One-third of savings will come from the expanded work requirements, which will likely force some people off of the benefits list, while another third will come from shifting the costs to states.
Representatives from area agencies and organizations, like Christina Maxwell, director of programs at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, say the reductions to SNAP, alongside Medicaid, will likely cut lifelines for people across the state.
“Quite frankly, we’re devastated by it. It’s a really shocking turn of events, specifically in the degree to which the federal government is turning its back on vulnerable people and people who are just struggling to make ends meet,” Maxwell said. “The federal government has long played a role in supporting people who needed a little extra.”
Previously known as food stamps, the program was renamed SNAP in 2008. More than 42 million people received SNAP benefits in March, equivalent to about one in every eight U.S. residents, according to the Associated Press.
The cuts to SNAP were passed just a few weeks after The Greater Boston Food Bank and Mass General Brigham released a statewide report announcing that half of all households in Franklin and Hampshire counties experienced food insecurity in 2024.
In western Massachusetts, one in six residents rely on SNAP to supplement their budget and put food on the table, according to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. The food bank serves approximately 124,000 people per month throughout its network, with SNAP allowing people to access more food than a pantry could supply them with.
“SNAP provides nine meals for every one meal” served at a food pantry, Maxwell said. “That’s a gap that we simply cannot make up.”
The added work requirements were framed by Republican lawmakers as getting able-bodied Americans back to work — House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed benefits were not for “29-year-old males sitting on their couch playing video games” — but representatives from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and Community Action Pioneer Valley say the changes will affect families, older adults and folks with disabilities instead.
“That’s not the case. Most people who receive benefits have jobs or they’re elderly, people with disabilities or they’re children,” said Janna Tetreault, Community Action Pioneer Valley’s associate director of programs. “There’s a huge misconception of people in this country that are low-income, in general.
“We saw during the pandemic that, actually, when you increase people’s SNAP benefits and other benefits, people are lifted out of poverty,” she continued. “We saw that work during the pandemic, so it’s incredibly troubling [to see these cuts].”
Maxwell added that the cuts are a “travesty” because it is taking food away from vulnerable people, which then creates hunger that then bleeds into other aspects of life, like work and school.
“A hungry person isn’t very effective at work, so taking food away from people, it doesn’t make any sense to what they’re saying,” she said, referring to Republicans who supported the bill. “We’re talking about children, seniors, veterans … I don’t know any people who would argue that those people should go hungry.”
Loss of SNAP benefits won’t just leave people without food. According to Maxwell, it will also affect local businesses and the farms where food pantries purchase their produce.
“Many of Community Action’s participants are SNAP participants. One of our biggest concerns is people will now have to choose between paying their rent, paying their utility bills or paying for their prescriptions,” Tetreault said. “I think it’s a blow to the economy — our local grocery stores and farmsteads. People use their SNAP benefits at our local businesses.”
Quabbin Harvest Food Co-op Team Leader Camille Bedaw said SNAP cuts will reduce sales at her store in Orange, which will compound further losses due to state reductions to the Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) that went into effect this year. HIP puts money back on EBT cards when customers use SNAP benefits to buy local produce.
“A lot of people in this area rely on that, so it’s really unfortunate that people with children or elderly people are being told they can’t afford to eat,” Bedaw said. “A lot of people that come in for their HIP shares are grabbing other things using SNAP, so I imagine those will go down with SNAP going down.”
Once the cuts go into effect, both Maxwell and Tetreault said their agencies are expecting big increases in participation at food pantries.
“We’re expecting to see a lot more people showing up at our network’s food pantries and meal sites,” Maxwell said. “We will do the best we can to get food out to people when they need it, but that’s going to be a challenge.”
Tetreault added that these cuts pose another funding issue for organizations like Community Action. President Donald Trump’s discretionary budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 includes the slashing of two line items that would potentially gut the agency’s services, as both the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and Community Services Block Grants would be zeroed out.
“We are bracing for more people at our food pantry program,” Tetreault said. “It’s just the first wave of what could be a really challenging fiscal time for all human services organizations.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.