USDA Proposes Cutting SNAP for 6.3 Million People, Including 1.8 Million Children Losing Free School Meals

shopper with a cart in a grocery store aisle

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a rule that would end automatic food stamp eligibility for millions of low-income families, a change the agency's own analysis says would remove about 6.3 million people from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The proposal, published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, targets a policy known as broad-based categorical eligibility that 46 states and territories use to streamline access to food aid.

The Short Answer

The USDA has proposed ending broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP, which would cut food assistance for about 6.3 million people in 3.2 million households — nearly 18 percent of all recipients — when fully in effect in fiscal year 2029. The rule would also strip automatic free school meals from about 1.78 million children. It is only a proposal for now: the public has 30 days to comment, through December 10, 2026, before the agency can move toward finalizing it.

What the Rule Would Change

Broad-based categorical eligibility, or BBCE, lets states grant SNAP automatically to households that receive certain benefits or services through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program — including non-cash help such as job training or child care vouchers. States use that flexibility to raise income limits above the federal cutoff and to ease asset tests, softening the "benefit cliff" for working families whose earnings rise slightly but who still struggle to afford groceries.

Under the proposed rule, titled "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility" and signed by Deputy Secretary Stephen A. Vaden, only households receiving TANF cash assistance would keep automatic SNAP eligibility. Families getting non-cash TANF services would have to pass the federal SNAP tests instead: income at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty level, plus strict limits on savings and assets. In Tennessee, which adopted BBCE only earlier this year, the policy had raised the income limit to 200 percent of the poverty line and dropped the asset test for most households.

The Numbers Behind the Proposal

The USDA's own estimates show the scale of the change. About 16.9 percent of participating households — 3.2 million households containing 6.3 million people — would no longer receive SNAP in fiscal year 2029, the first year the rule is expected to reach its full effect. The department projects the cut would reduce federal SNAP benefit spending by about $44.6 billion over fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

The ripple effects reach well beyond SNAP itself. Save the Children, citing the agency's analysis, says about 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, roughly 42,000 children could lose Summer EBT benefits, and about 5,500 women, infants and children could lose eligibility for WIC, the nutrition program for women, infants and children. The group warned that the USDA's estimates may not capture the full effects of extra paperwork and administrative barriers on families who remain eligible. For more on how the administration's cost-of-living politics played in the midterms, see our coverage of Trump admitting the deportation crackdown was "too tough" after midterm losses.

groceries and food supplies on a kitchen counter

A Second Wave of Cuts

The proposal would land on top of cuts already shrinking the program. More than 5.5 million people have lost SNAP benefits since President Donald Trump signed the July 2025 tax law — the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" — bringing enrollment to about 36 million people, according to USDA data. That law cut about $180 billion from SNAP and added new work requirements. The new rule, the administration says, would make eligibility more standardized and "preserve benefits for the truly needy."

The idea is not new. The first Trump administration proposed nearly the same rule in 2019, and the USDA later withdrew it. This time the proposal arrives with the administration already moving on multiple fronts to narrow the program, and with Democrats set to take control of Congress in January — a change that could put the rule under new oversight. You can follow the latest updates on federal food assistance and the SNAP proposal as the comment period runs.

What Happens Next

The proposed rule is open for public comment for 30 days after its November 10 publication, with comments due by December 10, 2026, through regulations.gov. The agency must review the comments before it can issue a final rule, and any final version could face legal challenges from states and anti-hunger groups. Until then, no one's benefits change: the proposal is not final, and the USDA's own projection describes effects in fiscal year 2029, not an immediate loss of eligibility.

For families near the cutoff, the practical question is the paperwork. Without BBCE, households that today qualify automatically would need to document income and assets against the federal limits — a process advocates say pushes some eligible families off the rolls even when their benefits should continue. The comment period is the main chance for states, food banks and families to weigh in before the rule moves forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the USDA propose on November 10, 2026?

The USDA published a proposed rule, "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility," that would end broad-based categorical eligibility for SNAP. Only households receiving TANF cash assistance would keep automatic SNAP eligibility; families getting non-cash TANF services would have to pass the federal income and asset tests.

How many people would lose SNAP benefits?

By the USDA's own estimate, about 6.3 million people in 3.2 million households — nearly 18 percent of all SNAP recipients — would lose benefits when the rule is fully in effect in fiscal year 2029. Federal SNAP spending would fall by about $44.6 billion over fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

Would children lose school meals too?

Yes, according to the agency's analysis. About 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, roughly 42,000 could lose Summer EBT benefits, and about 5,500 women, infants and children could lose WIC eligibility.

Is this change final?

No. It is a proposed rule, open for public comment through December 10, 2026. The USDA must review comments before issuing a final rule, and no one's benefits change while the proposal is pending.

What is broad-based categorical eligibility?

BBCE lets states grant SNAP automatically to households receiving certain TANF-funded benefits or services, including non-cash help like job training or child care vouchers. It is used by 46 states and territories and lets states raise income limits above the federal 130-percent-of-poverty cutoff and ease asset tests.

Has this been proposed before?

Yes. The first Trump administration proposed nearly the same rule in 2019, and the USDA later withdrew it. The new proposal comes after more than 5.5 million people already lost SNAP benefits under the July 2025 tax law, which cut about $180 billion from the program.

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