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Arizona SNAP rolls fall after new paperwork rules, NYT reports

newsJul 21, 2026181,236

The New York Times reported on July 20, 2026 that Arizona’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program rolls have fallen by about half in less than a year after the state added paperwork requirements and cut staff to avoid steep penalties under a new federal law. The paper said the law establishes steep penalties on states that make too many mistakes, prompting Arizona to increase the documentation applicants must file even as it reduced review capacity. The NYT story profiles people who lost benefits, including Dee McDonald, 65, a cancer survivor who now weighs 69 pounds and says she has had to skip meals while raising three teenage grandsons. Advocates and local reports say the drop offers a possible preview of national trends as other states face the same federal penalty structure, and Alabama has acknowledged similar pressure from the law. The report links the administrative changes directly to the rapid decline in enrollments and to worsening food insecurity for affected households.

Elizabeth Warren
@warren.senate.gov

It’s been a year since Donald Trump slashed SNAP funding in his “Big Beautiful Bill.” Here’s how many people have lost food assistance so far.

It’s been a year since Donald Trump slashed SNAP funding in his “Big Beautiful Bill.” 
 
Here’s how many people have lost food assistance in each state.
 
Alabama: -52,480
Alaska: -422
Arizona: -469,400
Arkansas: -18,549
California: -300,838
Colorado: -26,095
Connecticut: -33,599
Delaware: -18,458
Florida: -495,585
Georgia: No Data
Hawaii: -7,926
Idaho: -7,588
Illinois: -201,959
Indiana: -55,706
Iowa: -23,630
Kansas: -19,780
Kentucky: -39,094
Louisiana: -127,693
Maine: -11,071
Maryland: -32,502
Massachusetts: -145,968
Michigan: -158,599
Minnesota: -16,011
Mississippi: -40,350
Missouri: -48,436
Montana: -6,937
Nebraska: -16,873
Nevada: -70,965
New Hampshire: -1,514
New Jersey: -40,506
New Mexico: -17,106
New York: -147,176
North Carolina: -177,415
North Dakota: -4,938
Ohio: -106,133
Oklahoma: -107,821
Oregon: -46,792
Pennsylvania: -200,976
Rhode Island: -15,390
South Carolina: -63,100
South Dakota: -5,001
Tennessee: -99,979
Texas: -392,637
Utah: -21,787
Vermont: -4,547
Virginia: -114,077
Washington: -34,401
West Virginia: -14,337
Wisconsin: -22,485
Wyoming: -1,820
104020h ago
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