For Angelica Garcia, the process of renewing her food stamps, something she thought she had mastered, turned into an ordeal this spring.
A Tucson resident and single mother of three, she filled out an application form, called the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) multiple times, endured long waits on the line until the connection dropped, and visited an understaffed office, waiting hours for assistance.
When the Garcia family finally had their benefits reapproved in June, they had already lost two months of assistance, surviving on donations from food banks and basic items like beans, rice and tortillas.
Garcia, who has been using food stamps in the state for three years, reported that there are always challenges to be overcome, but that the government is now imposing “more obstacles” to access.
More than 4.7 million people in the United States have lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, known as food stamps, since the tax and spending law signed into law by former President Donald Trump took effect in July of the previous year. Data from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through March indicates that about 11% of participants were affected by this measure.
Changes to the nation’s second-largest social assistance program had a particularly rapid and pronounced impact in Arizona, where the number of SNAP recipients was cut in half, representing the largest decrease nationwide.
This reduction meant the loss of aid for more than 457,000 Arizonans, including approximately 196,000 children, according to data released by the Department of Economic Security (DES) at the end of May.
Deep dive into changes to the SNAP program
The legislation cut $187 billion, equivalent to about 17%, in SNAP funding over the next 10 years. This reduction was partially achieved by expanding work requirements and excluding some immigrants from accessing benefits, which has a significant impact on the most vulnerable families.
Furthermore, the new law establishes penalties for states that do not meet certain performance standards from October next year, and also transfers a greater portion of administrative costs to the federative units.
SNAP experts and Brett Bezio, DES spokesperson, pointed out that the significant drop in registrations in Arizona is due, among other factors, to the rapid implementation of federal changes by the state, which acted more quickly than other regions.
Liliana Soto, press secretary for Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, said in an email that the state “has no option but to comply with these requirements” or risk being “fined hundreds of millions of dollars,” which would result in the loss of food assistance for more vulnerable Arizonans.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly argued that SNAP reform “prioritizes American citizens and implements reasonable cost-sharing measures with states to combat waste, fraud and abuse,” although she did not provide specific examples.
The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Administration, which oversees the SNAP program, attributed the decrease in applications, in part, to changes in work requirements for beneficiaries.
Growth in demand at Arizona food banks
Cuts to the SNAP program have driven an unprecedented increase in the number of people seeking help from Arizona food banks, according to information from the Arizona Food Bank Network (AFBN), a statewide organization that coordinates with local pantries.
In April, approximately 843,000 Arizonans sought support at food banks, an increase of approximately 8% compared to the 779,000 registered in the same month of 2025. This number exceeded the total number of people receiving SNAP, according to data from AFBN. Although the number of users fell to around 790,000 in May, demand remains high.
Even with the drop in May, Terri Shoemaker, executive vice president of AFBN, said food banks are struggling to make up for a “huge gap” left by reduced benefits.
Neither the Department of Economic Security (DES) nor the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have commented on the increase in the use of food bank services.
Difficulties and frustrations with renewing benefits
Myriam Flores, a mother of seven in Phoenix, reported in a May interview that she was unable to renew her access to SNAP, losing $1,100 a month in benefits since January.
She said she spent hours on hold on Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) lines, with calls repeatedly dropping off.
At the time of the interview, Flores revealed that he visited the St. Vincent de Paul Society food bank in Phoenix almost daily to ensure that his children had something to eat.
“There are nights of crying, sleepless nights, when I lose sleep at 2 am doing math, deciding what to pay and what to postpone”, she said about her situation.
Reuters was unable to confirm whether Myriam Flores has been able to resume her efforts to obtain benefits or whether she currently meets the criteria to receive them.
Challenges in maintaining aid
Katie Bergh, senior public policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, explained that the lengthening of wait times is due, in part, to the Arizona state agency’s implementation of more rigorous candidate evaluation processes. These measures aim to comply with new performance standards and avoid future financial penalties.
Bergh highlighted that applicants are often unable to complete calls due to congested phone lines, or are asked to present additional documents that they do not have, or that, even if presented, the state does not have the capacity to process in a timely manner.
These stricter standards are a response to the state’s SNAP error rate, which measures overpayments or underpayments on food stamp program benefits.
Arizona’s error rate in 2024 was 8.84%, below the national average of 10.9%, but still higher than the 6% limit established by the new legislation. Historically, the federal government covered the full cost of benefits, but the new law requires states to cover up to 15% of that cost if they exceed the limit, significantly changing financial responsibility.
Next year, this could cost Arizona about $201.5 million, according to the Department of Environmental Services’ (DES) 2027 budget request.
In order to avoid the threat of “significant financial penalties,” DES implemented a more rigorous application process, requiring the submission of documents such as pay stubs or rental agreements, Bezio reported.
Cindy Bernardo, program manager at the St. Vincent de Paul Pantry, reported that many of the organization’s clients have faced delays or lost their SNAP benefits due to the implementation of the federal changes in the state.
She noted that “many of them have lost their benefits” and when they reapply, most “can’t even get their questions answered.”
Federal legislation also expanded work requirements to areas that previously enjoyed exemptions due to high unemployment rates or insufficient vacancies.
Currently, 14 of Arizona’s 15 counties are subject to work requirements, in a significant contrast to last year when only one county fell into that category, explained Joseph Palomino, director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress.
Palomino stated that these changes, combined with new documentation requirements, make it difficult for people to quickly access benefits, leaving them “helpless.”
Bezio informed that the agency is in the process of hiring more employees and has signed a contract with an outsourced call center to optimize waiting times.
Impact of reductions in other states in the country
Other states are also seeing notable declines in SNAP enrollment. USDA data shows declines of 17.4% in Louisiana, 11.6% in Wyoming and 13.7% in Virginia.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reiterated that states are responsible for accurately implementing federal changes and that the department has issued guidance to help comply with the new requirements.
The Louisiana Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment on the situation in their state.
For its part, the Wyoming Department of Family Services said that “a large part” of the decline in the state is due to federal modifications.
In Virginia, SNAP enrollment declined 12% in the year ending in March, according to data from the Department of Social Services.
Michael Pulley, spokesman, concluded that “the main impact of this law on the Commonwealth is that more families are now going hungry when no one should go hungry.”