Budget cuts and a government shutdown are hitting an estimated 48,000 New Hampshire households that receive food assistance through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to New Hampshire Food Alliance.
Specifically, the Trump administration’s July 4 One Big Beautiful Bill Act stipulates that SNAP benefits will no longer be recalculated annually based on cost of living, resulting in a $15 per-person per-month reduction in value by 2034.
Economics professor Patricia Anderson said these federal cuts could overwhelm local food pantries in New Hampshire.
“Food banks are the first groups to pick up that slack if federal welfare programs cannot cover the demand,” Anderson said. “During COVID, people were lined up at food banks everyday. We may very well see that again as a result of these budget cuts.”
The federal cuts also increase the state’s share of administrative costs from 50% to 75%. Historically the federal government has reimbursed 50% of program staff salaries and other costs to administer benefits. The New Hampshire state government will have to pay $6 million more every year, according to government professor and State Rep. Russell Muirhead, D-Hanover.
Muirhead wrote in an email statement to The Dartmouth that low state taxes will hinder New Hampshire’s ability to pay for food assistance. In January, Ayotte signed a law repealing the New Hampshire dividends and interest tax — which previously generated $184 million of state revenue annually, according to New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
“Eliminating the dividends and interest tax in New Hampshire will make it very difficult for the state to pick up the $6 million in annual nutrition assistance costs that the federal government will not be covering,” Muirhead wrote.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also changed the SNAP program’s eligibility requirements, requiring all beneficiaries to work at least 80 hours per month. Fifteen thousand New Hampshire residents currently enrolled in SNAP do not meet this requirement and are at risk of losing benefits, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.
Economics professor Angela Wyse said that work requirements “raise a lot of questions” for people with disabilities.
“These increased work requirements will raise a lot of questions for the disabled,” Wyse said. “Many people who can’t work that much will be forced to pick between their health and access to food.”
Alongside budget cuts stemming from the recent One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal government shutdown will keep SNAP beneficiaries from receiving their November stipend.
Republican N.H. Gov. Kelly Ayotte told WMUR on Oct. 16 that the SNAP program in the state can function up “until 30 days” of federal shutdown, and the state is working on a “contingency plan” if the shutdown extends beyond that.
Ayotte’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Dartmouth, nor did the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which administers the SNAP program.
New Hampshire Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill ’00, a Democrat, said in an interview that even if the government reopens, existing SNAP cuts put into law over the summer will hurt New Hampshire families.
“The cuts that the Republicans passed to SNAP are going to make people ineligible for supplemental food,” Hill said. “So, either way — shutdown or no shutdown — more families in New Hampshire are going to lose access to food assistance.”
Wyse said food insecurity “follows the business cycle,” and has been on rise since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are still recovering from the high rates of unemployment from the pandemic, and therefore many Americans are food insecure and vulnerable right now,” Wyse said.
Wyse added that the SNAP program has “long-term benefits” for children from low-income families.
“Many of these low-income kids rely on SNAP for reduced-price and free school meals, including breakfast and lunch,” Wyse said. “Without SNAP, these kids will not have access to food at school, which negatively impacts their academics.”
