Some New York state residents who receive federally funded food assistance could be at risk of losing some or all of their benefits due to new work requirements.
On March 1, the state will fully implement a law passed by Congress in 2023 that changes who may be eligible to receive food stamps. Those classified as Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents under new criteria must work at least 20 per week/80 hours per month to keep receiving their benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
These changes will raise the cutoff age for adults without dependents from 54 to 64 years old and will lower the age of dependents to children 13 years old or younger. The law will also remove categorical exemptions for some members of certain groups like veterans, the homeless population, asylees, refugees and victims of trafficking.
Approximately 139,000 people in about 70,000 households in Erie County received SNAP benefits in 2025, according to data from the New York State Office of Temporary Disability Assistance.
The Erie County Department of Social Services estimates that about 7,500 individuals will need to comply with the new law, but some organizations warn that these changes could affect not just individual households but cities and counties across the state.
“Who's impacted? Everyone, both at the state level and at the local level because cities have less resources to be able to administer this,” said Gina Plata-Nino, director of policy and advocacy of SNAP of the Food Research and Action Center. “They're getting less federal funding.”
Plata-Nino was one of several speakers at an emergency briefing on the new Snap work requirements hosted by several organizations – LiveOn NY, Human Services Council, NYC Employment & Training Coalition, NY Health Foundation, The Supportive Housing Network of NY, and the United Way of New York City.
The costs of running the SNAP program for counties across New York State will increase from a 50/50 match of local and federal funding to now counties having to front 75 percent of the bill.
A representative of the Erie County Department of Social Services confirmed to Buffalo Toronto Public Media that the loss of federal funding will increase the county’s cost to run the program, but that county officials have been preparing for the loss of federal reimbursement since the passage of the congressional law last July.
“The Department has adjusted our budget for administrative costs to include the loss of funds that will take place in October 2026,” a representative for the county said in a statement.
Individuals deemed Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents will be given a three-month period to comply before their benefits are reduced or rescinded. Some recipients may also appeal a decision if they believe they are exempt from working additional hours, but proving exemption may be challenging if they’re not aware of what they need to do before the three-month deadline for compliance.
Stanley Steele, senior public benefits attorney of Neighborhood Legal Services, said there may be some barriers for people who don’t understand the process of proving their eligibility or appealing how they are classified.
“The pool of people who are receiving food stamps, we would expect to shrink. Unfortunately, we're worried that it might shrink more than it has to, because there might be people in those buckets who, if they had gotten the correct paperwork and so forth, would still get food stamps,” he said.
Some are also warning that last November’s government shutdown which froze SNAP benefits showed how detrimental the loss of food assistance can be.
“We saw that, for example, in one state because of the shutdown, where people didn't get their benefits on time, eviction rates rose. Food insecurity rises as a whole when people don't get it,” Plata-Nino said.
The Department of Social Services advises SNAP recipients to comply with the new mandates to avoid losing benefits, but legal experts are advising individuals to be aware of whether they may be exempt from the new rules.
“Before they can take the SNAP [benefits] away, they have to issue notices,” Steele said. “Pay attention to the paperwork and look at how to appeal anything that you think would be an improper denial or discontinuance, and then you could take it to an administrative law judge or hearing officer and show them further paperwork if you think the Department of Social Services decision was incorrect.”
