Oregon Braces for Fallout From Federal SNAP Changes

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has wrought sweeping changes to a major benefits program in Oregon, and state officials are now grappling with administering the major shift.

The OBBBA instituted new work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a program that provides qualified families with money for groceries. The change has had particular resonance in the Beaver State, where 1 in 6 people receives supplemental nutrition benefits. It’s among the five states with the highest percentage of SNAP recipients in the country.

Before the law went into effect, residents in 30 of Oregon’s 36 counties were exempted from SNAP work requirements thanks to poor local job markets. The exemption applied to places with an average 24-month unemployment rate at least 20 percent higher than the national average, those that had been described in a study as lacking employment opportunities, or those that met another qualifying measurement for showing a lack of available jobs. Under the OBBBA, these waivers are only available to areas with an average three-month or 10-month unemployment rate of over 10 percent.

Thanks to these changes, all Oregon residents in areas that previously qualified for a waiver will be subjected to work requirements unless they’re exempted for another reason, like disability.

“Almost overnight we went from six counties with around 70,000 or so individuals [needing to meet work requirements] to over 36 counties with over 300,000 individuals,” says Nate Singer, Oregon eligibility partnership director at the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS).

Residents in some of these counties would have to drive for hours to get to another town that might have jobs, says Jessica Amaya Hoffman, SNAP director at ODHS.

“If there are no jobs in the one town where their housing happens to be, it’s not like they can just up and move … which is why we’ve had waivers for a long time for some of those outlying areas,” she says.

SNAP recipients who cannot find paid employment could opt to meet their employment requirement through volunteer work. The average Oregonian receives about $183 per month in nutrition benefits, and would be required to volunteer 80 hours per month to qualify for benefits. That amounts to about $2.28 per hour. Officials say it’s too soon to tell whether that low rate, on top of the administrative hassle of paperwork involved, would discourage some people from enrolling for SNAP.

The OBBBA also removed other work exemptions — such as for veterans or people experiencing homelessness — and revoked eligibility for lawful immigrants who are human trafficking victims or immigrated for other emergency humanitarian reasons.

Losing access to SNAP will make things harder for people trying to cover a financial gap and get back on their feet, Amaya Hoffman says. ODHS is trying to help residents navigate the new program rules.

Work Barriers and Opportunities

Along with ending work waivers for counties with weak job markets, OBBBA expanded work requirements to previously exempt populations of able-bodied adults, including veterans, people who are experiencing homelessness, youth who’ve aged out of foster care, adults age 55-64 and caregivers of kids age 14 and up.

The federal government says that the SNAP program historically hasn’t achieved its goals, stating that too many able-bodied adults receiving nutrition benefits could work, but don’t.

“The mission of the program has failed. SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times … The One Big Beautiful Bill promotes work, responsibility, and restores SNAP to serve the truly needy,” reads a White House explainer.

The changes concerning older adults particularly concern Amaya Hoffman. She fears that those who’ve been out of the workforce for many years will find that jobs have changed too much for them to keep up. Older SNAP recipients are also often juggling medical needs, and using nutrition benefits to help them afford both food and medication until they age into retirement benefits and Medicare, she says.

ODHS staff are now taking extra time when they talk with SNAP recipients to explain the changes and learn whether other factors might still qualify them for work exemptions, per Singer.

All states receive federal funding to provide an employment and training program to SNAP recipients. Oregon’s SNAP Training and Employment Program (STEP) gives one-on-one support to residents in acquiring job skills and overcoming other barriers to employment. The program states that it may be able to pay for training, child care, housing and utility costs, work clothes, bus tickets or gas and other items needed to get a job. It launched in 2013 with two providers and there are now STEP providers in every county.

SNAP recipients have another resource as well. For years, Oregon’s Employment Department, supported by federal funding, has offered SNAP recipients case management services through its Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) program. Participants visit a local WorkSource Center to connect with an employment specialist, who will work with them to create a plan for meeting their work-related obligations. This program can provide help with searching for jobs, provide training funds for education and assist participants in buying things they need to follow their case plans. Oregon intends to offer the ABAWD program in all counties this year, per documents submitted to the federal Food and Nutrition Service.

“Folks who engage in that process do have great outcomes, it’s just helping people get there that can sometimes be a barrier,” Amaya Hoffman says, noting people living in further-flung areas may have a long trek to get to state employment offices or to training opportunities.

Benefits are also shrinking. Many people receiving SNAP get additional social safety net supports, like help with electric bills. Under the OBBBA, energy assistance is now counted as part of household income, lowering nutrition benefits. The average Oregonian household receiving SNAP gets $300 per month in food benefits. Those affected by this change would see that reduced by an average of $58.

Immigration Chill

The OBBBA revoked SNAP eligibility for most lawfully present immigrants who’d arrived in the country for urgent humanitarian reasons, such as refugees, victims of human trafficking and asylum seekers. Undocumented noncitizens have never been eligible for SNAP.

Green card holders and entrants from Cuba or Haiti who arrived for pressing humanitarian reasons can still get the food benefits, as can members of mixed immigration status families who aren’t the ones whose eligibility was revoked. Even so, the federal governments’ anti-immigration rhetoric may be scaring people away from applying, especially if they have to show up to an office in person, Amaya Hoffman says.

The state is trying to keep people aware of the changes and of where they can find local food pantries. Given the increased wariness toward government, the department is trying to spread the word to community organizations that help these populations, so they can pass along the information, Singer says.

Economic Impact

SNAP is an economic booster. Each dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.50-$1.80 in the local economy, according to Amaya Hoffman. The benefits increase grocery sales and ease people’s food budgets, enabling them to spend on other needs.

When people don’t have to dedicate as much time to visiting food pantries or otherwise finding meals, they’re also better positioned to find a job and weather the time before their first payday, Amaya Hoffman says.

“Starting a job when you do not have one is expensive. We don’t talk enough about that,” she says. “How do I — especially if I have children — secure day care and cover those costs for that period of time before I get my first paycheck? And so having things like SNAP that ensure that you can continue to access food for that period of time can really make the difference between whether a family is successful or if they continue that cycle of not being able to access employment.”