Reconciliation impacts on SNAP and Child Nutrition programs in Nebraska

In July, Congress passed and President Trump signed a budget reconciliation package which included nearly $200 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). All 5 of Nebraska’s members of congress voted for the bill. This law is predicted to put 17,000 (out of 150,000 total) SNAP participants in Nebraska at risk of losing food assistance and will also shift at least $17 million in SNAP costs to the state. Child Nutrition programs like school meals, Summer EBT, and others will be negatively impacted through these changes as well.

See below for an overview of program changes and possible timelines for implementation: 

• SNAP Administration Cost Shift: Previously, there was a 50/50 state vs federal split for SNAP administrative costs. With the new law, that is changing to a 75/25 split, with the state picking up the additional 25% share.
  • Estimates for additional administrative costs to Nebraska are more than $17 million based on our current expenditures.
  • The change is effective Oct. 1, 2026 and state legislators will need to find the money during the 2026 legislative session or not be allowed to run SNAP at all.
• SNAP Benefits Cost Shift: For the first time in SNAP’s history, states may be required to contribute to a percentage of SNAP’s benefits costs, which have been 100% funded by the federal government up to this point.
  • The formula for calculating what a state’s SNAP benefit cost-share depends on the state’s error rate (combined overpayments and underpayments). An error rate of less than 6% would mean no cost share. Anything above 6% would trigger a cost-share between 5-15%, depending on the state’s specific error rate.
  • Nebraska’s most recent published error rate (FY24) was 5.5% but these numbers can fluctuate rapidly.
  • This change is effective Oct. 1, 2027.
• Harsh SNAP Work Requirements Expansion: Mandatory work requirements are expanded to the following new groups:
  • Older adults between the ages of 55-64
  • Parents with children 14 or older
  • Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth
  • This change is effective immediately but states are awaiting guidance from the federal government before implementing.
• Immigrant Eligibility: Refugees, asylees, trafficking survivors, and immigrant victims of domestic violence (U and T Visa holders) will now be excluded from accessing SNAP.
  • This change alone is estimated to impact around 7,000 Nebraskans.
  • This change is effective immediately but states are awaiting guidance from the federal government before implementing.
• Elimination of SNAP-Ed: SNAP-Ed, which is a program administered by DHHS and implemented by Nebraska Extension, is ended. In FY24, this program provided 119,000 individuals with limited budgets training on healthy eating, active lifestyles and budgeting. Effective Oct. 1, 2025.
• Benefit Level Reductions: Changes to the Thrifty Food Plan (the formula that calculates the cost of food given market conditions and eating habits which is then used to decide SNAP benefit levels) now must be cost neutral. This change will cut average household benefits by ~$26/month within the 10 year budget projection which will shrink the buying power of SNAP benefits. Effective immediately upon passage.
• SNAP Impacts School Meals: Children who receive SNAP are automatically eligible for free school meals and Summer EBT. The loss of SNAP eligibility will likely result in at least some families being unable to manage barriers to enrolling in these programs through other means. Schools’ eligibility for programs that serve free meals to all students regardless of income such as Community Eligibility Provision will also drop, likely resulting in fewer schools participating, more unpaid meal debt, meal shaming and financial struggles for nutrition programs.

This is a lot. At Appleseed, we’re very concerned that the additional costs to run SNAP required by the budget reconciliation law will cause our state legislators, DHHS and the Governor to limit SNAP benefits, cut other crucial benefits, or not run SNAP in Nebraska at all. Combined, we anticipate these changes will increase food insecurity in communities in Nebraska and across the US.

As we navigate these unprecedented waters, we appreciate your support in advocating for our elected officials to mitigate the harms that Congress has forced on our state. The upcoming legislative session will be pivotal in maintaining food access for communities across Nebraska!