Florida SNAP recipients express fears about Donald Trump tax bill’s cuts to food assistance

Image via Mitch Perry of the Florida Phoenix.

Here are some of the consequences that will follow if Congress cuts a key federal nutrition program, as proposed in the U.S. House’s version of Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“I won’t be able to get healthy foods like I am right now, as I have health issues,” said Peggy Shannon, 70, who lives in a senior rental apartment complex, whose only other income comes from her monthly Social Security check.

“The SNAP program helps provide all of that for me,” said Shannon, who described becoming “very depressed” upon learning of the potential cuts to the program, which still must go through the U.S. Senate before becoming law.

“Receiving SNAP benefits does help, especially if you’re trying to get your education or if your income is not where it needs to be,” said Jennifer Nicholson, a partially disabled single mother of four who is allowed to work a certain number of hours per month.

“Kids eat, especially with the summer months coming. They’re going to be home and they’re going to eat more and more. So cutting SNAP at this time would be very hard for some people,” she added.

SNAP means Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, cuts to which could cause nearly 3 million Floridians to lose access to federal food assistance, Tampa Bay area Democratic U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor and social service advocates warned during a press conference featuring the two women in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.

The program provides low-income people and families with financial assistance to pay for groceries. It’s funded through a combination of federal and state resources. The federal government now pays 100% of SNAP benefits, while the states and the feds share the administrative costs.

Included in the major tax bill advocated for by the Trump administration, and passed last week in the U.S. House, is a mandate that states pay between 5% and 25% of monthly SNAP benefit costs based on each state’s payment error rates (which reflect the amount of underpayments and overpayments).

Florida’s error rate in 2023 was 12.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That puts the state on the hook for 25% of the costs, or $1.6 billion in 2028 alone, if the bill were to take effect, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).

And all states would also have to increase their portion of administrative costs from 50% to 75%.

Whether Florida’s Republican-led Legislature would be willing to fill that gap is questionable, and Castor isn’t optimistic.

“Part of the proposal is to say that, ‘Well, we’re not really cutting everyone, we’re just asking states to provide more money,’” she said.

“We know here in the state of Florida we have an unfortunate track record that often comes when the feds say we’re backing off,” she added.

“Part of the responsibility here in the state of Florida, a state without an income tax, and one where we don’t want an income tax, means that you have to be good stewards of the tax dollars that are there, and right now I would question if they are fundamental good stewards of our tax money as they send more money off to private, for-profit charters,” she said.

Deficits forecast

In addition, Florida economists project budget deficits starting as early as the Summer of 2026 — another potential obstacle for the Legislature to get involved in increasing its share to SNAP.

More than 59% of SNAP participants in Florida are in families with children, and more than 41% are in families with older adult or disabled members, according to the CBPP.

Citing U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the Florida Policy Institute estimates that 99,000 veterans in Florida participate in the SNAP program. FPI bills itself as an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing state policies and budgets that improve the economic mobility and quality of life for all Floridians.

U.S. House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson praised the restrictions on SNAP after the proposal passed his committee earlier this month. A spokesperson for Thompson told Newsweek that SNAP spends more than $13 billion per year in erroneous payments.

Among the new requirements in the bill are expanding work requirements for “able-bodied adults without dependents” to people up to age 64, from the existing gap of 59. Also, administrative requirements would increase, including more stringent identity and income documentation.

“What we know about SNAP in particular is that most people are working. Or they’re on a pathway, as you heard from (the people who spoke today) to get there,” said Castor.

The Tampa Bay area Representative labels the legislation “the billionaire giveaway bill.” She says it increases bureaucratic hoops that will make it more difficult for people to collect benefits, adding that because individuals have busy lives they might miss one of those reporting periods.

“Which would mean that they would lose their food assistance, and that’s what Republicans in Congress are banking on, because the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) did an analysis … that says that all those bureaucratic barriers do nothing to reform the system, they simply work to kick people off, and that’s where they achieve savings to give the billionaire tax breaks,” she said.

Budget impasse

The Florida Legislature, which is in the midst of budget impasse, fueled by disagreement over the amount of tax relief to pass and how much money the state should spend, has not discussed what the loss of SNAP funding would mean to the state.

Florida Republican members of Congress are hailing the passage of the bill, noting other provisions of the measure.

“No tax on tips; No tax on overtime; Permanently Secures the Border; Largest Deficit Reduction in 30 years; Ends Taxpayer-Funded Healthcare for illegals,” U.S. Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds noted in a social media message last week.

“Huge win! The House just passed the Big Beautiful Bill — lower taxes and bigger paychecks,” South Florida U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar said in a video posted on X. “Your wallet just got a raise!”

Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is reported to be concerned about the fiscal implications of the Trump tax bill, which economists have said could raise the federal deficit by at least $3 trillion.

“I want to get a deal done; I support the President’s agenda. I support the border, I support the military, I support extending the Trump tax cuts — but we have to live in reality. But we got to live in reality here: We got a fiscal crisis,” Scott said, according to The Hill.

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Mitch Perry reporting. Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected].