Lori Covelli, 53, an unemployed social worker in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who last year was collecting $760 per month in food stamps, recently lost all her benefits after failing to find a job and running afoul of the program's work requirements.
asserted
who → collect → requirements
She had hoped to regain that aid on her 54th birthday, when she would age out of those restrictions, but then learned that a new federal law had extended the program's work requirement to 64.
asserted
law → hop → 64
"They were saying, 'Just try to hold on until you turn 54,'" Covelli told CBS News in recounting discussions with employees at her state's office for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the formal name for the food-stamp program.
asserted
Covelli → say → program
This summer — several months before Covelli turned 54 — she received a letter from SNAP that dashed those hopes.
asserted
that → turn → hopes
It told her that under the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), which
on July 4, 2025, the work requirement had been extended for people up to age 64."That's a long way off.
asserted
requirement → tell → age
At this point, SNAP benefits are essentially over for me," she said.
asserted
she → say → me
Covelli said she's applying to about 10 jobs a week but has so far failed to find employment.
asserted
she → say → employment
In the meantime, she's not sure how she'll cope financially, especially given the rising cost of groceries, utilities and other daily essentials.
asserted
she → cope → groceries
"It feels as though people are being punished" by the SNAP changes, she added.
asserted
she → feel → changes
In May, President Trump said that millions of people have been "lifted off" of SNAP due to a stronger economy.
uncertain
millions → say → economy
But anti-hunger experts and food-stamp recipients say that doesn't reflect what they are seeing, such as a job market where many are struggling to find work while coping with higher food costs.
asserted
many → say → costs
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment.
asserted
House → respond → comment
About 5.7 million Americans like Covelli have lost SNAP benefits since the OBBBA was enacted, according to a recent analysis from the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), an anti-hunger advocacy group.
uncertain
OBBBA → lose → Center
SNAP enrollment now stands at its lowest level since 2019.
asserted
enrollment → stand → 2019
Experts predict that more people will drop out of the program in the coming months as the 2025 tax and spending law imposes additional changes to SNAP.
asserted
law → predict → SNAP
SNAP's overhaul is creating new hurdles for applicants and heavier financial burdens for the states that administer the program, experts said.
asserted
experts → create → program
Starting Oct. 1, states will be required to pay 75% of the program's administrative costs, up from 50%.
asserted
states → start → %
Starting in October 2027, states with high SNAP payment error rates also will have to pay up to 15% of benefits, a cost the federal government has previously covered entirely.
asserted
government → start → benefits
Republican lawmakers have said the error rates indicate fraud, although anti-hunger advocates say they occur for routine mistakes like misspellings or missing addresses.
asserted
they → say → misspellings
Stricter work requirements for SNAP are adding more pressure, with experts noting that the new rules have contributed to the decline in enrollment.
asserted
rules → add → enrollment
Under OBBBA, food-stamp recipients aged 18 to 64 are required to work or volunteer at least 80 hours per month.
asserted
recipients → require → month
Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research & Action Center, said the Trump administration's changes to SNAP are "absolutely unprecedented."
asserted
changes → say → SNAP
FitzSimons said the more stringent work requirements and states scrambling to keep up with the funding changes enacted under OBBBA are creating confusion and application backlogs in many state SNAP agencies.
asserted
requirements → say → agencies
"There is a lot of chaos going on in SNAP, and it is harming the people the program was designed to serve," she said.
asserted
program → be → people
"We are concerned that some states could drop out of the program because they're not able to cover the cost."
uncertain
they → concern → cost
Its SNAP director, Brandon Hardin, told the Alabama Reflector in July that the payment error rate issue could put the state on the hook for $174 million in additional costs.
uncertain
issue → tell → costs
He added that one option would be for the state to end the food stamp program if it fails to lower its error rate and reduce the cost burden.
asserted
it → add → burden
Some states say they have been overwhelmed with managing the SNAP changes mandated by the OBBBA.
asserted
they → say → OBBBA
Arizona residents' enrollment has dropped by 53% over the last year, the steepest of any state.
asserted
enrollment → drop → state
In a June statement, its Department of Economic Security, which runs its SNAP program, said it had "been forced to rapidly overhaul our process to administer vital nutrition benefits" due to the OBBBA.
asserted
it → run → OBBBA
The law implemented "the most sweeping structural changes and strict administrative penalties seen in a generation," the agency added.
asserted
agency → implement → generation
The Arizona agency told CBS News that it had implemented changes "to avoid disastrous financial penalties and preserve food assistance for as many Arizonans as possible."
Since those changes, the program has stabilized and added 57,000 more enrollees in August compared to April, the agency added.
asserted
agency → tell → April
"Although historical staffing shortages and legacy technology systems intensified the impact of the sweeping federal changes, we have reversed the trend in our caseload," Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Economic Security, told CBS News.
asserted
Bezio → intensify → News
"I have to prove that I'm sick"
asserted
I → have → ?
Some food-stamp recipients told CBS News they've struggled to get responses from their states' SNAP departments as they navigate the new requirements.
asserted
they → tell → requirements
Angie Aranda, 49, of Pueblo, Colorado, said she is seeking a waiver to the work requirements due to a chronic health condition, Crohn's disease.
asserted
she → say → condition
She's trying to find remote jobs so she can work at home and have easy access to a bathroom.
asserted
she → try → bathroom
"I've probably put in about 30 applications," she said.
asserted
she → put → applications
Aranda is seeking the medical waiver after the OBBBA changed its rules governing families with children.
asserted
OBBBA → seek → children
Before the law, people with children under 18 were exempt from the SNAP work requirement, but the law changed that to parents of kids under 14.
asserted
law → change → 14
…and 33 more, not listed.
The Aporia
