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The One Big Beautiful Act that President Donald Trump signed last year is already having a big effect in Arizona.
The legislation changed rules for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the federal government shifted some of the cost burden to states.
Since then, about 470,000 of Arizona’s SNAP recipients have lost benefits, including 200,000 children. And the state has seen an over 50% reduction in new enrollments.
Our writer Kristine Gill dives deep into what’s happening and how Arizona is filling the gaps.
Here’s what our newsletter readers said:
💬 “I’m a retired grandmother raising a grandson (age 13) on the spectrum. I am on a limited and fixed income, and my SNAP benefits are $143.00/month. With food prices being what they are now, that doesn’t even cover a full week’s worth of groceries, so I end up putting more on my credit card and figure out how to pay at the end of the month. It’s time for our lawmakers to start living on the budgets they force the rest of us to live on. Perhaps then we could actually see a change.” — Sue G.
💬 “It seems to me that starving poor children is not very pro life. Just another republican lie.” — Jim C.
💬 “It is a sad event when wealthy leaders take away meager benefits of food from our poorest neighbors and steal from the government.” — Curt V.
💬 “I’m upset by all defrauding the program. Rules were tightened to cut that down. It is very unfortunate some suffer. I do my best to support our food banks to help.” — SRS
