Enrollment in SNAP grocery aid is dropping faster than expected

The number of people receiving SNAP food aid has fallen more than 13% in a year as changes to the biggest U.S. PHOENIX (AP) — Enrollment in the biggest federally funded food aid program in the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in a 12-month span — a decline far steeper than the government estimated as work requirements and other provisions of…

Those losing coverage in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, include people who don’t meet the tightening requirements to participate, and, advocates say, some who qualify for the help but are rejected because they miss deadlines or don’t have the needed documentation handy. It’s too early to tell exactly how many fall into each group. It’s also unclear how many have lost coverage because some state agencies that run the programs are overwhelmed trying to keep up with changes.

That was the case in Arizona, which saw the nation’s largest enrollment drop. Tia Fields, who analyzes social safety net policies at the advocacy group Invest in Louisiana, said a the main reason she’s seeing people lose coverage is not failure to meet work requirements. “A lot of it is administrative paperwork,” she said.

Proponents of welfare reform hope the roll reductions are driven by people earning too much to keep qualifying — a sign that policy changes are behaving as intended for a program they assert is riddled with fraud. “If there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they’re working and they’re moving forward,” said Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, which pushed for stricter requirements for SNAP, “that would be a step forward.” Arizona has had the steepest decline so far, with a 12-month drop over more than 50%, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which runs SNAP.

The decline was more than 20% in Georgia, Louisiana and Nevada — and in Florida, where the Department of Children and Families said in a statement that the decreasing number “is reflective of the state’s strong focus on advancing opportunities for Floridians and their families to achieve economic self-sufficiency.” Eligibility requirements are tightening SNAP helps more than 1 in 10 people in the U.S. Most of the beneficiaries have incomes below the poverty line. The monthly benefit, which is delivered on debit cards that can be used only for groceries, is $344 per household on average.

It's too early to tell exactly how many fall into each group.It's also unclear how many have lost coverage because some state agencies that run the programs are overwhelmed trying to keep up with changes. “A lot of it is administrative paperwork,” she said.Proponents of welfare reform hope the roll reductions are driven by people earning too much to keep qualifying — a sign that policy changes are behaving as intended for a program they assert is riddled with fraud.“If there are people that are leaving the welfare rolls because they're working and they're moving forward,” said Rachel Sheffield, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, which pushed for stricter requirements for SNAP, “that would be a step forward.”Arizona has had the steepest decline so far, with a 12-month drop over more than 50%, according to data compiled by the U.S.