On Steve Vossler’s 56th volunteer shift of the year at the Harvesters food bank distribution center in Lawrence, Kansas, he packed corn and cucumbers.
“I like the assembly line aspect of it,” he chuckled.
He was one of a dozen or so volunteers on a July morning cheerfully chatting and packing produce into red mesh bags, ready to stock the shelves at a local food pantry.
Aside from volunteer work, Vossler said, he reads the news. He knew that Congress just approved historic changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which could cause many more low-income families to rely on food banks like Harvesters.
“I don’t like it and I’m sure there will be some changes,” Vossler said. “But who knows what they’ll be.”
IN A MAJOR policy shift for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, individual states will have to shoulder some of the costs to help feed low-income families.
Administrative costs will jump for every state. New work eligibility requirements will shut some recipients out, while creating more work for state agencies that run the program. And states will face steep penalties if they don’t run SNAP to a certain degree of precision.
Supporters of those measures don’t see them as “cuts,” so much as policies that force states to run SNAP more responsibly. Critics, like the progressive Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, say the changes could cause millions of low-income people to lose some or all of their food assistance.
Either way, individual states must figure out how to fill significant budget holes when the policies take effect in 2028. Those decisions will affect how many of Kansas’ 180,000 SNAP recipients are able to rely on federal food assistance to get by.
How will SNAP change?
Faced with steep cost-sharing expectations, some states are feeling the same kind of financial panic as families who may see their food benefits dwindle.
SNAP costs for the state of Kansas will rise against the backdrop of an uncertain fiscal future. While the state recently took in far more tax revenues than expected, it is still slated to spend more money each year than it raises — leaving an estimated $731 million shortfall by 2029.
KANSAS Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said changes to SNAP in President Trump’s recent tax and spending package — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill — could mean more than $50 million in extra costs.
Part of that comes from the boring stuff: administrative expenses. It costs money to hire SNAP case workers, train them and invest in technology to make sure the program is running as it should.
Now, states will pay 75% of those costs rather than half — raising Kansas’ obligation by $15 million.
The bill also expands the range of people who must work or attend training programs for at least 80 hours per month to receive benefits.
