On July 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts federal SNAP support by around $186 billion over 10 years through an unprecedented change in the structure of the program as well as cuts to eligibility and benefit levels. It is estimated that 6 billion meals each year will no longer be provided as a result. 
 
Changes include: 

  • Shifting SNAP costs to states by: 
    • Requiring states to pay a portion of SNAP benefits for the first time in program history, up to 15%, based on their payment error rates, beginning in October 2027. Final negotiations in the Senate resulted in a temporary implementation delay for up to two years for states with high error rates. 
    • Increasing the state’s share of administrative costs from 50% to 75%. 
       
  • Restricting future adjustments to the Thrifty Food Plan, which will include cuts to SNAP benefits as well as benefit levels for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), SUN Bucks/Summer EBT benefits, and the Nutrition Assistance Program block-grant to Puerto Rico. 
     
  • Increasing the number of individuals subject to time limits on their SNAP benefits, including, for the first time ever, parents of school-aged children over 14 and older adults age 55 through age 64 by expanding work requirements and restricting waivers. 
     
  • Adds a time limit on benefits for veterans, currently homeless individuals and former foster care youth.
  • Eliminating funding for the SNAP Nutrition Education program. 

SNAP is the most effective hunger relief program in the U.S. For every one meal that Harvesters provides, SNAP provides 9. Harvesters is under no delusion that we, or the rest of the charitable food sector, can provide the same amount of support that will be lost.  
 
For months we met with lawmakers, rallied other advocates, worked with media outlets to get the message out, and created a sign-on letter that we delivered to Washington D.C., but sadly, the bill still passed with the cuts intact. 

And with the passage of this bill, we know more and more people will go hungry. 

Hunger looks like a mother skipping dinner so her child can eat. A senior on a fixed income deciding between groceries and medicine. A veteran experiencing homelessness, who is trying to get back on his feet and can’t afford a healthy meal. A child going to school with an empty stomach.   

At Harvesters, we are grieving, but we are not giving up. Now more than ever, our community will need us. 

We are fortunate to have supporters and advocates like you on our side to face this challenge. We are forever grateful for the thousands of you who joined us to speak out about these cuts with countless phone calls, emails, and letters to our representatives.  Now, we must come together with compassion, urgency and resolve. Together, we must work to fill the gap left behind by this bill.   

That’s where you come in, to continue the momentum you have created with your advocacy. You can continue to advocate by donating, as every dollar helps us provide food where it’s needed most. You can continue to advocate by giving your time and showing our neighbors we stand by their side. You can continue to advocate by using your voice. Your voice is still powerful. You can continue to advocate by staying engaged.   

This is not a moment for despair; it is a moment for action. Our neighbors are counting on us. And with your help, we will not let them down.