More than 11,000 Connecticut residents could immediately lose federal food assistance, including thousands of children who may no longer get lunch. That’s under a proposed change to eligibility requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, that President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday.
Robin Sparks, executive director of End Hunger Connecticut, says when enough families qualify for SNAP in a district, that makes the district eligible to offer free lunch to all. But families who have more than $2,250 in assets would no longer get benefits.
“If they come off SNAP, the school district may no longer qualify. So children who don’t qualify for free and reduced lunches no longer will get them at all. So I think it will have a domino effect, frankly, in some of the school districts.”
David Dearborn, spokesperson for Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, which administers the program, says, “SNAP becomes a real safety net and a lifeline for many families and individuals, and to limit the eligibility criteria we think is definitely not the right way to go.”
Dearborn says the new rule would force his department to hire several people to administer the applicant asset test to determine eligibility for food assistance.
The proposal now enters a 60-day public comment period. If implemented, it will likely face challenges in court.