PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — If you rely on SNAP or know someone who does, we have important information. New rules are impacting thousands of people who count on the benefit to feed their families.
SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. New work requirements could cut the benefit off for some, but there are steps recipients can and should take right away to keep the benefit.
A woman named Sandra told us she has two teenage children and works as a foreign language translator but “our work isn’t steady.. It’s been really, really hard.”
She’s 58 and says finding a new job isn’t easy, so she relies on monthly SNAP benefits to feed her family.
She tells Action News, “We really need it… Every penny helps us.”
And Sandra will need extra help soon. She is having surgery next week after she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
She says, “I won’t be able to drive. I won’t be able do much of anything.”
In Philadelphia alone, an estimated 475,000 people receive SNAP benefits, but many could lose them after new rules went into effect this week under President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
They require certain recipients to prove they work 20 hours a week. Lydia Gottesfeld of Community Legal Services says, “The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services sent out a checklist to people who are becoming subject to this requirement starting September 1st.”
Starting September 1, these SNAP recipients will be subject to the work requirement:
- Age 18-54
- Do not have a dependent child under 18 in the household
- Considered mentally and physically able to work
Starting November 1, the requirement will expand to cover people:
- Age 18-64
- Do not have a dependent child under 14 years old
- Considered mentally and physically able to work
But there are exemptions for caregivers, pregnant people, people receiving unemployment compensation, and others. People who make at least 217-dollars-50-cents a week before taxes are also exempt, as are people with a disability that limits their ability to work. However, if you do not receive a disability benefit, you need to get a medical exemption form completed by your medical provider.
Pennsylvania is sending an exemption list to impacted SNAP recipients, but you can also check for exemptions online. If you do qualify for an exemption, complete the form so there’s no interruption in your benefits.
Sandra says, “We don’t plan to be on it forever, the rest of our life, but we do need that help at times when we really need it.”
Community Legal Services is also concerned that even if people can meet the work requirement, getting paperwork and submitting it might be difficult, and the system may not even be equipped to handle the new influx.
Also, come November, veterans will no longer be exempt from the work requirement, but may be eligible for a different exemption.
CLS has created this SNAP Action Toolkit to help people keep their benefits.
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