TEXAS, STATE WITH 2ND HIGHEST FOOD INSECURITY RATE, KEEPS ON CUTTING

From Houston Public Media

Texas has been called the second hungriest state in the country, having the highest food insecurity rate nationwide, according to the nonprofit  Feeding America. One in six Texans regularly goes hungry, a third of whom are children. That’s more than 3 percent above the national average.

Federal and state programs designed to ease hunger and poverty, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provide a lifeline for families – sometimes determining whether a child has food on their plate...

Changes to SNAP requirements and cuts in funding to the program were signed into law July 4 by President Donald Trump as part of the massive tax-and-spending package known as the "Big Beautiful Bill." The signature legislation includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, paid for in part by cuts to SNAP, health care, and student loan programs. 

The bill is expected to add more than $3.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, more than a 10 increase from the nation’s current debt.

SNAP’s budget will be cut by nearly $187 billion, or about 20 percent according to a Houston Public Mediaanalysis of Congressional Budget Office estimates and SNAP spending. The law makes major changes to who qualifies for food assistance, adding stricter work requirements and reporting mandates that Republicans say are intended to limit abuse of the program by those who are able to work.

Rep. Glenn “GT” Thomas (R-PA), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, which oversees SNAP, said in an April hearing that restrictions needed to be tightened.

“We must preserve benefits for those truly in need, but also ensure that SNAP guides participants to independence and self-sufficiency,” Thomas said. “There is dignity in work and it provides more opportunities than just a paycheck. Americans thrive when every family has the opportunity to work and succeed independently from the government.”
New work requirements ‘misguided’

The added requirements are expected to heavily impact the 12 percent of the U.S. population that use SNAP, and Houstonians are no exception. One in every 10 Texans uses SNAP, and 22 percent of those people live in the Houston area, according to Katherine Byers, the Houston Food Bank’s governmental relations officer.

“When we really bring it down to the individual level, folks are barely able to afford nutritious food with the benefits they’re getting now,” Byers said. “Now, it’s going to be even harder to access those benefits.”

Byers said in the Houston area, 92,000 people with school-aged children could lose benefits entirely under the new law, and more than 42,000 people between 55 and 64 years old could lose portions of their benefits – both because of the added work requirements she called “misguided.”

“The other narrative around all this is, ‘Well, that’s OK, because folks need to work, and these folks aren’t incentivized to work,'” Byers said. “The majority of SNAP participants, the majority of individuals who receive Medicaid, are working. So, you’re left with these very vulnerable populations.”

In addition to the reduction in the number of people eligible for SNAP, changes to the program require states to fund much larger portions of the program to cover administrative and food costs. 

In Texas, Byers said the state Legislature would need to allocate around $806 million annually to cover the lost funds, a hefty sum that she warned could lead legislators to cut costs by reducing individuals’ spending allotment. That move, Byers said, would threaten Texans’ ability to access nutritional food.

“One of the administration’s priorities is making America healthy again,” Byers said. “Folks have to have access to nutritious food to be healthy.”

Currently, single Texans on average must make less than $2,071 a month to qualify for SNAP. They receive about $9 per day for food, according to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. .

Houston-area Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) voted against the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” She raised concerns over the law’s reliance on state commitments, which she said many may not have faith in after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed a bipartisan program that would have funded summer food assistance for children who don’t have access to free or reduced lunches when school is out.

“We’re not seeing that the state is going to make up the gap here,” Fletcher told Houston Public Media. “I think there’s every reason to be concerned that the people in our community who are doing the work to try to help others in our community who are hungry and who are in need are going to feel the brunt of this and have more resources taken away.”

The Texas Legislature allocated $60 million toward funding the program, known as Summer EBT, as part of the state budget, which one nonprofit said would cover the state’s cost four times over. It would have given eligible families $120 per child to be used on approved food items over the summer break. It was the only item that Abbott line-item vetoed in the budget, providing a two-sentence explanation.

“There is significant uncertainty regarding federal matching rates for (Summer EBT) and other similar programs,” Abbott wrote in his veto proclamation. “Once there is more clarity about the long-term fiscal ramifications for creating such a program, the legislature can reconsider funding this item.”

Stacie Sanchez Hare, the director of No Kid Hungry Texas, a nonprofit combating childhood food insecurity in the state, said the governor’s explanation is unfounded. Summer EBT is part of a national program run through the USDA that guarantees matching federal contributions. Currently, 37 states and numerous districts and territories participate in the program. Summer EBT and SNAP funding are separate. Sanchez Hare said if anything, the Summer EBT program is needed now more than ever.

“Concerns about potential SNAP reductions make participation even more essential, right?” Sanchez Hare said. “Both sides of the aisle came to get together to support the smart policy. That money would have fed 3.75 million Texas children.”

Democratic Houston state Rep. Armando Walle, a leading advocate for Summer EBT funding, told Houston Public Media Abbott’s office didn’t express any concern with the item when the Legislature was in session.

“We thought we were in the driver’s seat, especially when the lieutenant governor and the speaker included (Summer EBT) in the final budget,” Walle said.

Sanchez Hare said the program would have relieved some of the burden on the state’s food banks and would have helped offset potential impacts of SNAP cuts, which she said could especially hurt Texas.