WCMA Notes: SNAP in the Spotlight

SNAP – the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – is making headlines and headaches, but this national feeding program is important to families, and important to dairy.  

Federal feeding programs have been hotly debated in Congress for decades, but the “The One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed by President Trump in July, and other new policy measures, have placed SNAP in the national spotlight.  

The $99 billion program, executed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is important to dairy: one USDA study (now over ten years old) pegged annual dairy purchases at $730 million by SNAP users. This fall, as the government shutdown threatened SNAP funding, WCMA-member dairy manufacturers offered strong support for the program’s feeding mission.  

A Shift to States 

The One Big Beautiful Bill mandates that next October, the federal government will reduce administrative support dollars it offers to states to execute SNAP.  The bill will require states to cover 75 percent, rather than 50 percent, of the cost to administer SNAP benefits starting in October 2026. 

The change will shift billions of dollars of support from the federal budget to state budgets, and at a U.S. House of Representatives committee hearing in September, several representatives noted these added costs may buckle the feeding program in their states. 

Wisconsin is more than 18 months away from completing a new state budget, and recently state Governor Tony Evers proposed high-speed action on a legislative plan to devote more state dollars to cover new costs for SNAP, administrated in Wisconsin under the name FoodShare. The Governor is seeking as much as $70 million in new funding. 

And to be clear, the One Big Beautiful Bill is shifting two costs to states: 1) the increase in program administration and, 2) a new plan to “punish” states with poor records in cleanly executing SNAP.  States with higher payment error rates (above 6 percent) will start paying a percentage of the actual SNAP benefit payouts (not just the administrative costs). States with a 6-8 percent error rate would pay 5 percent of benefit costs. This rises to 10 percent for states with an error rate of 8-10 percent and 15 percent for states with even higher error rates. 

Wisconsin has a respectable error rate at 4.47 percent, but the Governor is asking for $11 million for new state agency jobs to monitor the program and maintain a successful rate.  And he wants $43 million to cover Wisconsin picking up the tab for 75 percent of administrative costs. State legislators are considering an amendment to add these new dollars to an existing bill that’s moving though Wisconsin – a bill focused on limiting the food items SNAP users can buy at the grocery store. 

Understanding SNAP 

That’s the essence of SNAP – federal dollars flowing to states to help consumers buy groceries. SNAP funds about 42 million Americans who need help paying for food. States offer payment cards backed with USDA funds. In 2024, SNAP benefits averaged $187.20 per month per person across the U.S., for a total spend of $99 billion.  

The One Big Beautiful Bill not only overhauled federal assistance to states, it also mandated tougher work requirements for SNAP recipients. Previously, people aged 18-54 were required show proof of work or volunteering to receive SNAP funds – that has been changed to ages 18-64.  

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins also piled on SNAP days ago, stating that the agency would start withholding funds from states that refuse to supply personal data on SNAP users in their states, including their immigrant status.  

California, New York, Minnesota, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, and Wisconsin have refused to share sensitive SNAP recipient data, citing privacy and immigration enforcement concerns. Court injunctions have temporarily blocked USDA’s proposed penalties.  

Delisting Certain Foods 

Like Wisconsin, many states have proposed curtailing foods – mostly candy and soda – from purchase with SNAP funds.  

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association stepped in and halted Wisconsin’s SNAP bill in November, gaining the bill author’s approval to add an amendment clarifying that protein bars with dairy ingredients are not “candy.” 

This bill will likely continue its legislative journey in January.

SNAP funding and data, SNAP work requirements, and SNAP grocery lists are being hotly debated, but two things are clear: dairy processor know that some U.S. families need help putting food on the table, and no food is more nutrient dense and healthy for growing children than dairy. 

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