AARP Defends Food Aid as Federal SNAP Cuts Take Effect

State governments are finding ways to make up funding deficits for food programs

Molly Snow,

AARP

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Published April 15, 2026

AARP Defends Food Aid as Federal SNAP Cuts Take Effect

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Key takeaways

Federal SNAP cuts are shifting millions in costs to states and threatening benefits.
SNAP has been linked to fewer hospital and long-term care admissions, lower poverty rates and better well-being for older adults facing food insecurity.
AARP encouraged state lawmakers to use budget money to stabilize food aid for adults 50 and older.

As state governments face new pressures to sustain food aid, AARP is leading efforts to fill the gaps left by federal cuts and prevent adults 50 and older from going hungry.

For decades, the federal government has fully funded benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). But last year, the Trump administration significantly reduced federal contributions, leaving states to absorb millions in additional costs or be forced to cut benefits.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed by the president in July, requires states to pay for 75 percent of administrative costs, up from 50 percent, beginning October 2026.

In addition, states that overpay or underpay benefits — known as the error rate — will be required to cover some of the cost of SNAP benefits, which the federal government has paid in full since the program began. The higher the error rate, the more a state must pay.

And for the first time, adults ages 55 to 64 must work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month to maintain SNAP benefits under the OBBBA. This can create barriers for older adults who may face hurdles to employment, often because of age discrimination.

All told, nearly 4 million people in a typical month are likely to lose at least some of their SNAP benefits once changes, including funding cuts, are fully implemented, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.

That includes veterans, older adults, and some people with disabilities who may be unable to obtain exemptions or who are unaware of the requirements.

Anticipating the pressure this will put on states to continue supporting SNAP, AARP has been working with state lawmakers to prioritize state funding to offset federal cuts, prevent costly penalties and protect older adults’ access to food assistance as eligibility rules narrow.

More than 11 million adults 50-plus receive modest SNAP benefits — an average of $6 per day — to buy fresh, nutritious food they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. Federal cuts could exacerbate food insecurity and increase strain on local food banks and nonprofits, including Meals on Wheels, to serve those in need.

Here’s a look at AARP’s efforts to protect food assistance this year.

Making SNAP funding a state budget priority

When AARP Wisconsin realized the state would need roughly $69 million to cover a shortfall in federal SNAP funds, Advocacy Director Erin Fabrizius and her team took action. They participated in a press conference, sent letters and met directly with lawmakers to push the state to find ways to offset the loss in federal support.

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Wisconsin also faces an additional $200 million in potential fees if its benefit error rate rises above 6 percent and triggers financial penalties under the OBBBA.

Another wrinkle: The state budget had already been finalized, meaning lawmakers would need to pass stand-alone legislation to preserve Wisconsin’s SNAP program, known as FoodShare, which serves roughly 178,000 residents over 50.

“That’s why AARP engaged,” Fabrizius says. “We were concerned that those people would not have access to the basic nutritional assistance they get from FoodShare.”

In the first five months after the OBBBA passed, SNAP participation fell in every state, including by 5 percent or more in 28 states and one territory, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

But Wisconsin is an example of a state mitigating these effects.

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On March 23, the governor signed legislation to cover a 25 percent increase in administrative expenses and to hire more caseworkers to reduce errors in applications that could trigger crippling financial penalties.

The state legislation also increases funding for Wisconsin’s free employment and training program, giving SNAP recipients at risk of losing benefits free resources to help meet new work requirements.

“We’re really happy to see that investment made to prevent potential loss of benefits and also to save taxpayers’ dollars,” Fabrizius says. “[The OBBBA] did shift more costs on the state taxpayers, but it would have been really significant if we hadn’t gotten this done.”

AARP Nebraska was also instrumental in influencing lawmakers to include enough money in a law passed April 7 to make up for an $11 million reduction in federal funding to run the state’s SNAP program.

The law also restores $500,000 stripped from last year’s budget to support statewide Meals on Wheels providers and other food insecurity work.

Preventing older adults from losing SNAP

States are also seeking ways to strengthen supplemental programs that support SNAP.

In West Virginia, AARP helped secure years of back-to-back funding for the SNAP Stretch program. It provides adults age 60 and older with $2 for every dollar spent at farmers markets, and makes grandparents raising grandchildren eligible for an additional $3. The program’s goal is to stretch food budgets even further.

While $360,000 for SNAP Stretch in 2027 falls far short of offsetting the impact of federal cuts to SNAP under the OBBBA’s cost-sharing model, it helps preserve a vital program that improves food access for West Virginians.

In Kentucky, AARP helped block legislation that would have ended the “broad-based categorical eligibility” (BBCE) program for SNAP, a move that would strip nutrition benefits from many low-income older adults. BBCE is one way states can streamline SNAP eligibility by automatically qualifying households for food aid if they meet the criteria for other assistance.

For older adults, BBCE simplifies the process of getting benefits by removing redundant financial checks. For states, it lowers administrative costs by up to 7 percent per case, cuts down on paperwork and helps deliver benefits faster, according to the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization.

Forty-six states, including Kentucky, use BBCE, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP.

But in March, some Kentucky lawmakers attempted to pass legislation that would prohibit the state from granting BBCE. The Trump administration proposed a similar move that would end BBCE nationwide, which could affect an estimated 6 million people, according to the CBPP.

As more older adults are subject to new work requirements that could disqualify them for food aid, AARP Kentucky was concerned that cutting BBCE would further drive down participation by those who need SNAP most.

Adults 50-plus have reported difficulty finding work later in life, due in part to age discrimination in hiring, medical or physical limitations, caregiving responsibilities or difficulty navigating complex paperwork, making them more likely to fall off the rolls for SNAP.

These changes may worsen SNAP under-enrollment among older adults. Sixty percent of low-income older adults who qualified for federal food assistance in 2022 weren’t using it — in part due to potentially burdensome application processes, according to research from AARP.

The Kentucky bill would’ve made it more difficult for older adults to access the food they need, especially “at a time when rising costs are already straining household budgets,” wrote Gary Adkins, AARP Kentucky volunteer state president, in a March 17 letter to state leaders.

AARP Kentucky’s opposition to the bill helped deter legislators from moving it forward.

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The key takeaways were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.

Molly Snow is a writer for AARP covering advocacy issues and state news. She also writes AARP's Today's Tips podcast. She previously worked at other news outlets, including Federal Times, McClatchy and Gannett.