Houston SNAP enrollment at lowest level recorded in at least 4 years, report shows

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Kinder Institute report called it the fastest drop in SNAP enrollment the Houston area has seen since at least 2022.

This drop comes after new eligibility changes went into effect, which did things like expand work requirements and narrow down who qualifies for benefits.

Now, the lifeline that helps fill the gap between paychecks and the grocery bill is getting smaller.

"If SNAP shrinks, families lose the majority of their food budget, not a small supplement. So at the grocery store, that means buying less food or less expensive, less healthy food like fresh produce, stretching food meant to last a week over ten days or two weeks instead," Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole said.

RELATED: Texans express concern as SNAP participation drops, data shows

Nearly 155,000 people across the nine-county Houston area lost SNAP benefits between last June and this June, which is an 18% drop, according to data from Texas Health and Human Services.

The decline comes after new eligibility changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that took effect in the second half of last year.

Under the regulations, able-bodied adults under 65 years old without dependents must complete at least 80 hours a month of work, job training or volunteering to keep their benefits.

Previously, that only applied to people under the age of 55.

"Food banks were built to be a supplement to federal nutrition programs, not a replacement for them. So when SNAP shrinks, the math just doesn't work," Cole said.

Cole said their food bank referrals have gone up, and she said most of the people calling for help are 50 years old and over.

The Houston Food Bank said it has also noticed more people in their lines and needing more food frequently.

"It's important to recognize that the charitable food system cannot make up for these big drops in SNAP. For every meal that food banks provide, SNAP provides nine," Houston Food Bank CEO Brian Greene said.

Greene said local food assistance programs simply can't help people to the level that federal assistance can.

So now, he said they're left trying to fill a gap they can't sustain alone.

"We're going to do the best we can. We're not going to turn people away, but we're just going to have to spread the food thinner and thinner," Greene said.

SEE ALSO: Why nearly 4.3 million people are no longer receiving food stamps