New SNAP work requirements are coming on Feb. 1. What to know.

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: USA Today

Jan. 30, 2026, 3:59 p.m. ET


Come Feb. 1, the nearly 42 million low-income Americans on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can expect major changes.

The United States' largest nutrition assistance program has been a funding flashpoint for the second Trump administration, taking center stage during the 43-day 2025 government shutdown when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in October that it would not pay the next month's benefits.

The bill that ended the shutdown restored funding for the program after a series of lawsuits filed by states challenged payment pauses, eligibility requirements and requests from the federal government for sensitive citizen data. Even so, Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," passed last summer, already included major changes to the program, including tightened work requirements and billions in funding cuts.

SNAP recipients must adhere to increased work requirements beginning Sunday, Feb. 1, as part of the bill. Here's what to know.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/30/new-snap-work-requirements/88430906007/

[llmart]

1. In a nation where 40% of our food supply is thrown in the trash and obesity is an epidemic.

"You just have to wonder what the administration is trying to accomplish by removing protections that have been in place to ensure that the most vulnerable people in our society have some access to food security, some access to put food on their tables,"

I think DUers already know the answer to that question.

[2naSalit]

2. Not only that...

Much of our produce will be harder to come by as we go forward. all these hard freezes going on now affect our winter crops in a major way. We will be importing more this year if people don't farm a lot of it themselves. Maybe we'll slow down on throwing so much of it away.

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. Well, they did not give me the time of day both times I tried, so this has nothing to do with me.

I feel sorry for those who are trapped in this, as they will be forced into doing things that they should not be doing just to satisfy the great god of capitalism.

We can't have people who can still breathe not making some asshole richer, now can we?

[FakeNoose]

4. Young mothers are stuck at home with toddlers - how do they find work?

The reason they need SNAP is because they CAN'T WORK while their children are young. Now Uncle Sam says they HAVE TO work or they don't get the funds. It's a vicious cycle.

If only the young mothers can all get together and hire each other to watch each other's kids. Then they can all say they're "employed" and meet the new requirement for SNAP. Everybody's happy.

[MichMan]

8. The link states that it doesn't apply to those with children under 14 yrs old.

Why would the parents of a toddler be affected ? My parents both worked when I was 14.

It also requires parents and household members to meet the additional work requirements if a dependent child is aged 14 or older. Previously, those with a child under 18 were exempt from the requirements.

[travelingthrulife]

10. GOP: It's their fault for not being rich.

If women work, they want us out of the workplace. They should be home taking care of their kids.

If women don't work in order to care for their kids, they are forced into the workforce.

[AZLD4Candidate]

5. Private welfare has numerous hoops and hurdles. Corporate welfare is given away like breathing with

little, if any, oversight, and costs a ton more than the former.

[EuterpeThelo]

6. This

made me Google the minimum age under state laws at which a child is allowed to be left home alone, and the results absolutely SHOCKED me. Most states have kinda subjective tests about maturity level that leave it to parents to assess whether the kid can follow rules, make good decisions and respond to emergencies, but JEEZ LOUISE, look at some of these ages in states that have specific numbers!

The ones in bold, I'm personally of the belief that it's absolutely ridiculous to pretty much EVER leave a kid that age alone for any length of time. Between 9-12, maybe for short periods of time but all day while you're at work!?!? No way. (Illinois, OTOH, has set a limit that is excessive, IMHO. Only two more years and they're able to start driving!)

14 Years Old: Illinois
12 Years Old: Colorado, Connecticut, and Mississippi
11 Years Old: Kentucky
10 Years Old: South Dakota, Tennessee, and Washington
9 Years Old: Georgia
8 Years Old: Maryland and North Carolina
7 Years Old: Nebraska and Oklahoma
6 Years Old: Kansas
No Age: 36 states (some have guidelines at the local level)

My own daughter was 12 before I let her stay home by herself, and that's when I got her her first cell phone (which, back in 2004, it was unusual for a 12 year-old to have).

[MichMan]

9. The work requirements only apply though for parents of children that are 14 and older

I was left at home at 14 while my parents worked.

It also requires parents and household members to meet the additional work requirements if a dependent child is aged 14 or older. Previously, those with a child under 18 were exempt from the requirements.

[Exp]

11. I wonder if some of these states that OK under 10 yrs old have other laws, like, maybe it's OK to lock your kid in

a kennel / cage when the adults are gone!

[cstanleytech]

7. I wouldn't oppose modest work requirement for those physically capable of it if some things were enacted.

First would be free childcare and free care assistance if the person on SNAP is caring for a disabled adult or child and lastly is 100% free college or trade school for the person, not a loan but 100% free with no other strings attached other than a modest work requirement.

[Stargazer99]

12. get pissed at these work requirements because employers always want trained employees

and this country has no national programs to train in needed professions or the cost of the training is TOO dammed expensive for poor people. This work demand is just a way to torment the poor

[JCMach1]

13. This

[MichMan]

14. If you read the link, it states what is offered for training

Under the bill, able-bodied individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 without dependents must work or attend a work program, such as SNAP Employment and Training, at least 80 hours per month to receive benefits. Previously, the top age was 55.

The SNAP E&T program helps SNAP participants gain skills and find work that moves them forward to self-sufficiency. Through SNAP E&T, SNAP participants have access to training and support services to help them enter or move up in the workforce. These programs also help to reduce barriers to work by providing support services – such as transportation and childcare – as participants prepare for and obtain employment. Each state is required to operate a SNAP E&T program and receives federal funding annually to operate and administer the program.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap-et

[Stargazer99]

15. I sure didnot get help when I was young and running away from a potental child rape

[Fil1957]

16. They don't give a shit about the work requirements. It's not about that. It's about cutting the funding.