New state and federal SNAP changes are taking effect, and Indiana public health officials say they expect it will cause more Hoosiers to lose benefits.
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides food assistance to low-income households. President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last year, cut SNAP funding by $186 billion — marking the largest cut ever to the food program.
Indiana lawmakers also passed their own restrictions this year, meaning residents on SNAP face both a smaller federal program and new state eligibility rules at the same time.
SNAP participation has declined across Indiana over the past year, according to data from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, or FSSA. Statewide, the number of Hoosiers receiving SNAP benefits fell from 588,184 in April 2025 to 508,166 in April 2026, a decline of nearly 14%.
Marion County saw an even steeper decline. The number of residents receiving SNAP benefits fell from about 131,000 people in 62,000 households in March 2025 to about 108,000 people in 53,000 households in March 2026 — a 17.5% decrease, according to FSSA.
Dr. Shellye Suttles, administrator of the Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety's Division of Community Nutrition and Food Policy, said she's concerned more Hoosiers will struggle to afford groceries as benefits are reduced or lost.
"Neither local government nor charitable food assistance is going to be able to offset the reduction in benefits,” Suttles said.
Indiana lawmakers this year passed Senate Enrolled Act 1, which narrows SNAP eligibility. The law ends the state's use of expanded categorical eligibility, a federal option that had let more low-income households qualify automatically. That change is expected to remove about 3,112 households from the program, according to a legislative fiscal analysis.
The law also eliminates the state's $5,000 asset limit, tying eligibility to federal asset limits. The state set a new limit of $3,000 for families without an elderly or disabled member, meaning some households with savings, including bank accounts, cash, real estate and personal property, may no longer qualify for benefits.
It also requires applicants to report the citizenship or immigration status of everyone in their household, even if they are not applying for benefits themselves, and has increased eligibility verification requirements. The state Division of Family Resources must report any household member whose status can't be verified to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Federal changes are also beginning to take effect. Those include expanded work requirements for some recipients, including many adults ages 55 to 64, while limiting states' ability to waive those requirements for certain populations.
Congress also eliminated funding for SNAP-Ed, a nutrition education program that helped participants learn how to shop for and prepare healthy meals on a limited budget.
The Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety says residents who need help navigating the changes or finding food assistance can use the city's Community Compass tool to locate nearby food pantries, hot meal sites and other resources. The office is also hosting food outreach events throughout July.
Farrah Anderson is an investigative health reporter with WFYI. You can follow her on X at @farrahsoa or by email at fanderson@wfyi.org
