Louisiana’s SNAP numbers drop, but not due to work requirements or citizenship

Far fewer people in Louisiana are receiving federal food aid than a year ago, and state data suggest the decline is not from new work requirements or a citizenship verification test that President Donald Trump’s welfare cuts now require.

As of June 30, the number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Louisiana was down nearly 21% from the same time last year — an unprecedented decline with 166,000 fewer people monthly receiving federal food stipends, according to Louisiana Department of Health data. 

A similar situation is unfolding in other states though Louisiana’s decline has been steeper than most, according to the most recently available data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Trump’s One Big Big Beautiful Bill Act added new work requirements and placed restrictions on legal immigrants who previously qualified for SNAP, but state data indicates the sizable drop in beneficiaries can’t be attributed to either of those factors.   

Of the more than 321,000 cumulative SNAP case closures in Louisiana over the past year, none were attributed to failed citizenship verifications, and only a tiny fraction resulted from unmet work requirements, according to LDH data.

The agency categorizes SNAP case closures using a specific list of reasons, such as whether someone voluntarily fails an income test, isn’t a U.S. citizen, doesn’t work enough hours or withdraws from the program. A SNAP “case” often refers to a household, where multiple people might receive an allotted stipend.

State data show procedural reasons, such as an applicant not responding to a request for additional information, accounted for about 75% of the case closures since July 2025. 

“Each SNAP case is evaluated individually based on its merits,” LDH press secretary Amy Whitehead said. “When a case closes, it is because the household did not provide the required information or documentation needed to determine eligibility, or because the household was determined to be ineligible for benefits.”

The health department did not explain why there has been a sudden spike in households not providing documentation to continue receiving SNAP benefits.

‘They really need a better process’

 Priscilla Harrison, a single mother in Baton Rouge with five kids, said the state cut off her SNAP benefits in June because of a mistake her caseworker made. Harrison said she had to wait in line for over three hours at an agency office in Baton Rouge to try to clear it up after the employee had overlooked an email Harrison sent to submit her paystubs, she said.

“Every seat was filled. People were standing up. One lady was having an anxiety attack,” Harrison said. “They really need a better process because people are really relying on this.”

Even though the state restored her benefits, the amount Harrison said she receives is about three times less than what it was previously, and she can’t get an explanation as to why. 

Before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act took effect July 4, 2025, the number of SNAP recipients in Louisiana was relatively steady, fluctuating only a few percentage points annually. 

Tia Fields, a social services policy analyst with the left-leaning think tank Invest in Louisiana, said the closure data suggests other provisions of Trump’s law might be influencing how states are now running the program. 

Previously, the federal government covered three-quarters of the administrative expenses for running SNAP, with states responsible for the balance. Starting in October, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will make states cover half. 

Additionally, starting in October 2027, states that make mistakes in either overpaying or underpaying SNAP recipients — known as a payment error rate — will start losing the core SNAP funding that goes to those recipients if the state’s error rate is over 6%. 

Louisiana’s payment error rate of 8.14% is above that threshold but relatively low when compared with other states, Whitehead said.

“Our SNAP payment error rate is actually the 16th lowest in the nation,” she said. “Louisiana has historically been one of the stronger-performing SNAP states in the country, consistently outperforming the national average on payment accuracy over the last six federal reporting years.”

States with error rates over 6% are already subject to USDA sanctions, and the prospect of losing the food assistance funding poses a greater financial risk to a state’s budget. 

The federal government covered the entire $1.6 billion in SNAP benefits that Louisiana disbursed over the past year. Based on its current error rate, Louisiana would have to cover up to 10% of that bill. 

Although the error rate tracks overpayments and underpayments, it doesn’t measure whether eligible households are improperly denied or removed from the program. In other words, there’s no penalty for denying benefits to eligible people, Fields said.

The left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities made similar points in an analysis of the SNAP declines it published this month. 

“The magnitude of the cost shift and the urgency surrounding error rates may incentivize states to take drastic measures to reduce their payment error rates quickly and cut program costs, even if it means delaying or improperly denying benefits to eligible people,” the report states. “We’re likely seeing some of those initial effects in SNAP participation data.” 

The state health department said there’s no correlation between case closures and payment error rates.

According to projections from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the new payment error measures in the law could drive some states to reduce or eliminate their participation in SNAP.

“Some states will maintain current benefits and eligibility; others will modify benefits or eligibility or leave the program altogether,” the analysis states. 

Nearly 1/4 drop in child recipients

By large majorities, those losing food assistance in Louisiana are American citizens who are still technically eligible for the program, Fields said.

“People are still poor, and people are still hungry,” she said. “They still technically qualify, but the system has to be there to document it.”

Monthly SNAP benefits average $189 per recipient in Louisiana. They are funded entirely by federal tax dollars through the USDA, while states share some of the administrative costs. 

David Rubel, a New York-based public policy consultant who studies the SNAP program, said the sudden declines in participation across the country are largely from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. When it took effect, the law made sweeping changes to federal programs and tax policies, cutting social safety net programs to partially offset tax breaks for corporations, investors and middle- and high-income individuals. 

Generally, able-bodied SNAP recipients have had to work or be enrolled in a work training program at least part-time to qualify for benefits. In 2023, Congress exempted veterans, parents of young children and other specific groups from the work requirements.

Trump’s legislation ended the exemptions for veterans, homeless people and young adults who have aged out of foster care. It also added more paperwork requirements for some recipients, including parents of young children.

A substantial portion of those who’ve lost SNAP benefits in Louisiana are children. State data from July 2025 through June show a decrease of 82,064 child recipients over the period — a 23% decline that’s larger than the drop for any other group.

Harrison, who works as a restaurant server, said her reduced SNAP benefits have added additional strain to an already precarious financial situation. She and her children have been staying at hotels and a friend’s home in Kenner. 

She described her caseworker as friendly but overworked, noting how difficult it is to reach her by phone to discuss her benefits. 

“It’s hard, and I don’t understand it,” Harrison said.