Oct. 1 brought changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that will affect every county in the state.
One change offers a boost to residents struggling to afford food, while others may be hard on families filing for benefits, as well as expensive for all of the state’s counties.
Here are some developments that SNAP recipients in the Finger Lakes region need to know:
• One change to SNAP involves an annual increase in benefit dollars based on cost-of-living increases and inflation.
For the contiguous United States, the maximum amount will result in an increase of $8 per month for a household of one, whereas a family of four will see an increase of $29 a month, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate sits at 3.4%, and a measurement of core inflation, less food and energy costs, is currently at 2.4%. Overall energy costs are up 16.3%, reflecting an increase of 27.4% for gasoline and a 3.8% increase in electricity. Overall food costs are up 2.7%.
• Counties are bracing themselves for cost shifts and administrative changes that are mandated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Donald Trump July 3, 2025.
The federal government will no longer cover 50% of the costs of the program, instead reducing its obligation to 25%. If New York State doesn’t absorb the cost shift, 75% of the program’s cost will fall on the state’s counties.
Yates County’s Department of Social Services reports it will face an increased expenditure of $236,714. The county has been proactive in preparing for this shift in its 2026 budget.
According to New York State Association of Counties, the cost to New York counties will result in an approximately $168 million increased burden annually, with an estimated $60 million hit to county budgets in the fourth quarter of 2026. The NYSAC is seeking a two-year delay for these cost shifts from Congress.
Meanwhile, various county entities continue to lobby Gov. Kathy Hochul to absorb the increases so that it doesn’t not become a burden for county budgets.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also calls for able-bodied individuals without dependents who wish to qualify for SNAP benefits to prove they are working at least 80 hours a month. Such individuals will be required to verify those hours.
The mandate raised the age of exemption from the work requirements from 54 to 64. It also lowered the age of the exemption for parents with dependent children from 18 to 14. Additionally, for the first time in SNAP history, veterans, homeless people, and 18-year-olds just out of the foster care system will be required to perform 80 hours of work a month.
“ABAWDs (Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents) must provide proof that they’re meeting work requirements if they want more than three months of SNAP,” explained Amy Miller, commissioner of Yates County’s Department of Social Services. “They do so by providing logs for time spent volunteering, working, or participating in employment and training activities like job searching or job skills training. Those logs go to our Workforce Development Unit; there, an employee enters the hours into WTWCMS (Welfare To Work Case Management System). The system then automatically decides whether to assign a countable ABAWD month to the client or not, depending on whether the number of hours the client did meets their requirements.”
Residents are encouraged to reach out to their respective county’s Department of Social Services for more information about new SNAP rules and regulations.
