Across the country, food assistance remains one of the most consistent needs families bring to United Ways and 211. For the fourth consecutive year, 211 data shows that requests for housing (6 million), utility (3.1 million), and food (2.5 million) assistance were the most common. In 2025, needs were exacerbated by disruptions to SNAP benefits and shrinking resources for local food pantries.

SNAP is the nation’s largest nutrition program, and it depends on a strong federal-state partnership. H.R. 1 introduces a significant funding shift to the SNAP program in 2027, requiring most states to pay a share of SNAP benefits based on their error rates. 

In addition, all states will be required to cover 75% of administrative costs, a 50% increase above current levels, starting this October. This is the first time in history that states have had to bear a significant cost of SNAP benefits, and it will hit budgets hard. For many states, this shift could amount to them now being responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars annually at a time when they are already grappling with tighter budgets and reduced federal support across other programs.

Implementing these changes too quickly risks destabilizing SNAP operations and undermining service delivery. H.R.1 provided states with the highest error rates two extra years before they face these costs, but most states have only until this September to reduce errors before their state match is determined. To ensure smooth, fair implementation, Congress should extend this existing two-year delay to all states. A uniform, nationwide delay would give states the time needed to reduce error rates, modernize systems, and implement federal policy responsibly.