Congress should reverse SNAP cost shifts to Alabama

By Carol Gundlach, senior policy analyst | carol@alarise.org, and LaTrell Clifford Wood, hunger policy advocate | latrell@alarise.org

Grocery prices are persistently high, and many Alabamians are struggling to put food on the table. Alabama Arise believes freedom from hunger is a basic human right and has worked for decades to make food more affordable.

Arise has advocated to remove the state sales tax from groceries and to expand access to federal nutrition programs like school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. But to ensure those programs work for Alabamians, we also must ensure Congress puts the needs of the people first.

In the coming months, federal lawmakers will seek to pass a new Farm Bill. Congress should ensure this legislation reverses harmful SNAP cuts and takes other measures to reduce hunger.

Why the Farm Bill matters to Alabama families

The Farm Bill is a major act of Congress, usually passed every five years. The last full Farm Bill reauthorization came in 2018. Congress has approved several extensions since, but not a major rewrite.

While the Farm Bill provides essential aid and support for farmers, its biggest component is SNAP food assistance. The Farm Bill authorizes nearly all SNAP funding. What Congress chooses to fund through the bill will determine if many families can afford the food they need.

A U.S. House committee in March approved its version of the Farm Bill. The House could consider the bill sometime in May. If passed by the House, the Farm Bill would go to the U.S. Senate, which likely would take it up sometime this spring or summer. Alabama’s senators, Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, will be key players in the bill’s negotiations. Tuberville sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Britt sits on the Senate Budget Committee.

Arise is urging the Senate to prioritize key SNAP reforms that the House committee’s Farm Bill neglected. The most important of these priorities is to reverse or suspend the upcoming SNAP benefit cost shift from the federal government to states.

Alabama Arise senior policy analyst Carol Gundlach (second from left) joined Hunger Free Alabama allies Laura Lester from Feeding Alabama (left) and Elisa Munoz from the Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (right) to meet with U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (second from right) on April 28 in Washington, D.C. The advocates urged Sewell to help delay the SNAP cost shift in the Farm Bill. (Photo courtesy of Elisa Munoz)

SNAP changes could be costly for Alabama

Congress last year passed HR 1, the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This budget reconciliation bill could result in major SNAP cuts in Alabama and nationwide.

Since the food stamp program was created 60 years ago, the federal government has covered the full cost of SNAP benefits. The federal and state governments also have divided the cost of running the program. HR 1, however, will shift more of those SNAP costs to states. The law will require most states to pay for a percentage of SNAP benefits – up to 15% for some states. HR 1 also requires states to pay for 75% of SNAP administration costs, up from the current 50%.

Unless Congress changes this requirement, Alabama will have to provide up to $261 million in additional SNAP funding in next year’s General Fund to maintain basic food assistance. Arise fears that the Legislature may be unable or unwilling to do so, with potentially devastating consequences for more than 750,000 Alabamians.

The new Farm Bill should reverse these harmful SNAP cost shifts to Alabama and other states. At minimum, Congress should delay the cost shifts to give states more time to figure out how to cover the new expenses.

What should Congress do to improve SNAP?

Congress should use the Farm Bill reauthorization as an opportunity to take other steps to make SNAP better. One big change would be to loosen or end time limits imposed on some SNAP participants who are unable to meet rigid work reporting requirements.

Most SNAP participants are children, seniors or people with disabilities. Even so, more than 1 in 3 SNAP participants in Alabama (35%) lived in households with work-based income in 2024. And overall, 5 in 6 participants (83%) have incomes at or below the poverty line. These facts point to an essential truth: Families are struggling to keep food on the table because of low wages and an affordability crisis, not unwillingness to work.

Congress can strengthen SNAP by protecting participants from a form of benefit theft known as skimming. Lawmakers should require that SNAP EBT cards have the same chip technology protections provided to credit and debit card holders.

Congress also should require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue publishing its annual Food Insecurity Report. This report collects critical data over time about how many Americans are hungry and how anti-hunger programs make a difference.

Arise will continue speaking out for hunger relief in Alabama

Over the next few months, Alabama Arise will make sure our senators hear our voices on the importance of SNAP. We will continue meeting and communicating with their offices and will follow up on a sign-on letter we sent to Tuberville and Britt expressing our concerns about the SNAP cost shift and its impact on state budgets. We also will keep working to bring more business leaders and allies into the conversation.

We will be asking you, our members and supporters, to raise your voices on the importance of SNAP for our families and communities. Please watch for Arise action alerts, and please share your thoughts and concerns with your members of Congress.