by Morgan Flood, Policy Research Specialist
The recently passed budget reconciliation bill, also known as One Big Beautiful Bill, included several unprecedented cuts to SNAP and Medicaid that will cause many people to lose benefits. SNAP, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, gives low-income people and families funds that help them afford the groceries they need to thrive. The cuts to the program contained in the budget reconciliation bill will have a devastating effect on food insecure Pennsylvanians. SNAP is by far the largest governmental food assistance program, and it also dwarfs the charitable food network; for every meal food banks and pantries share with our neighbors, SNAP provides nine.
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), which oversees SNAP in Pennsylvania, estimates that statewide, more than 140,000 individuals will lose access to SNAP due to provisions in the budget reconciliation bill that take effect in the short term, such as expanded work requirements and time limits for adults ages 55 to 64 along with parents and caregivers of children over the age of 14. The cuts also include changes to eligibility for asylees, refugees, and other lawfully present non-citizens.
Across the 27 counties the CPFB serves, almost 22,000 individuals will lose SNAP because of the budget reconciliation bill, according to PA DHS. In total, the CPFB's service territory makes up about 15% of the SNAP loss statewide, although it is home to 23.7% of the overall population of Pennsylvania. By comparison, Philadelphia alone will see more than 45,000 people lose SNAP, which makes up almost a third of the total loss across the Commonwealth. Philadelphia's 1.6 million residents make up just 12.2% of Pennsylvania's population.
Within the CPFB’s service area, the counties with the largest drops are York (3,184 individuals) Lancaster (2,829 individuals), and Dauphin (2,884 individuals); all will see about 3,000 people losing benefits. These three counties account for about 40% of the SNAP loss in the CPFB’s service territory. Since these counties are also among the most populous in the region, this is unsurprising, but the scale of the decrease remains staggering.
Other counties where more than 1,000 people will lose SNAP because of the budget reconciliation bill include Blair (1,852 individuals), Northumberland (1,592 individuals), Lycoming (1,357 individuals), and Clearfield (1,117 individuals); Lebanon County will have 982 people lose SNAP.
Counties where more than 500 people will lose SNAP include Cumberland (839 individuals), Columbia (723 individuals), Franklin (664 individuals), and Bedford (521 individuals). Fewer people are affected elsewhere in the service territory, but there are no counties where there will not be neighbors who are forced to go without because of these policy changes. The Central Pennsylvania Food Bank is working hard to support our neighbors in need, but our work and the circumstances of central Pennsylvanians facing hunger have just become more difficult.