The Farm Bill: Why SNAP Funding Matters

What Is the Farm Bill?

The Farm Bill is the country’s biggest piece of food and farm policy. Congress first created it in the early 1900s to help farmers survive unpredictable weather and market swings. Over time, it grew to cover much more — including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the program that helps millions of Americans afford groceries.

Today, SNAP is the single largest part of the Farm Bill, followed by crop insurance for farmers.

What’s Happening Right Now

In April 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Farm Bill that does not undo $187 billion in SNAP cuts from an earlier budget law (H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill”).

These cuts are already hurting real people — especially:

• Children and older adults
• Veterans and people with disabilities
• Working families and unhoused individuals

Families are facing empty cupboards, missed meals, and impossible choices between food, rent, and medicine.

It’s not just families who are affected. Farmers and food retailers depend on SNAP dollars too — when people can’t afford groceries, that hurts local food economies.

It’s about to get worse. Starting in 2027, states will have to cover a much bigger share of SNAP’s administrative costs — jumping from 50% to 75%. Starting in 2028, states will have to help pay for SNAP benefits themselves for the first time ever. States that can’t absorb these costs may be forced to cut who qualifies for help, raise taxes, or cut other services.

The Impact in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is already feeling the strain:

• 40% of Massachusetts households report facing food insecurity
• 60,000 Massachusetts kids have lost SNAP benefits
• 117,000 households have dropped off SNAP since August 2024
• 80% of calls to the state’s SNAP Assistance Line went unanswered in March and April 2026
• 70% of SNAP applicants (Jan–April 2026) were denied simply because understaffed caseworkers couldn’t follow up in time

This isn’t a benefits problem — it’s a staffing problem. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) doesn’t have enough caseworkers to help people get or keep the food assistance they qualify for. And when people lose SNAP, they also lose HIP (Healthy Incentives Program) — which means local farmers lose customers too.

What We’re Asking For

At the federal level: We’re urging the U.S. Senate to reject the House’s Farm Bill and pass legislation that actually reverses the SNAP cuts and supports both families and farmers.

At the state level: We’re asking Governor Healey to fund 200 additional SNAP caseworkers at DTA so Massachusetts families can get the help they’re entitled to.