Tulsa, OK: May 13, 2025 — Hunger Free Oklahoma is sounding the alarm about proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that would shift the burden onto states like Oklahoma and weaken a program millions rely on to feed their families.
“SNAP is the most effective, efficient, and essential antihunger program in the country, not just for families, but for local economies,” said Chris Bernard, CEO for Hunger Free Oklahoma. “These proposals don’t fix anything. The proposals are not about efficiency or effectiveness; they are simply designed to push people off or keep people from accessing a benefit in order to reach an arbitrary number of cost reductions.”
One of the most concerning proposals would shift some SNAP benefit costs to states in 2028. For Oklahoma, this could mean $75 million to $375 million in new annual costs, depending on how error rates are calculated—often influenced by outdated systems and complex eligibility rules.
“This kind of policy punishes states with fewer resources,” Bernard added. “It also undermines a core principle of the program: the ability to expand and contract in response to economic conditions. Under this cost-sharing plan, states would be required to contribute more during economic downturns—precisely when they face declining revenue and increased pressure to cut spending.”
Another proposal would raise the state’s share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 75%, which disregards the fact that eligibility work is already costly and under-resourced. Eligibility staff are often paid low wages and face high turnover, which drives up costs. Investing in that workforce would be a more effective solution than increasing the state’s share of the bill.
Several other changes in the proposal would limit benefits or make it harder for people to qualify for SNAP, thus increasing food insecurity across the nation, including:
- Limits on Benefit Updates: Freezes updates to the Thrifty Food Plan, which sets benefit levels, ignoring rising food costs for the nearly 700,000 Oklahomans who rely on SNAP.
- Expanded Work Requirements: Increases the age for work requirements from 54 to 64 and redefines what counts as a dependent child, potentially affecting over 100,000 Oklahomans.
- Utility and Internet Cuts: Limits deductions for utilities and internet, which could cut benefits by $20 to $100 per month for many households.
- Punitive Error Penalties: Sets a zero-tolerance standard for small errors, increasing administrative costs by millions of dollars each year.
- Cuts to Nutrition Education: Repeals funding for the SNAP-Ed program, which helps thousands of Oklahoma families make healthier food choices and eliminates a proven tool for reducing long-term healthcare costs.
Hunger Free Oklahoma supports Section 10013, which extends funding for the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) through 2031. Continuing to fund commodities for food banks or increasing funds to that program does nothing to soften the devastating blow to food security in our state and our country that these SNAP changes will bring.
“These proposals would penalize states with smaller tax bases and create more barriers for families already struggling to make ends meet,” Bernard said. “SNAP works. Undermining it through punitive state cost shares and benefit limitations only takes food off the table of thousands of Oklahomans.”
Hunger Free Oklahoma urges policymakers to reject harmful provisions that would weaken SNAP and instead support measures that strengthen the program, ensuring every American has reliable access to the food they need to thrive.
We also call on our fellow Oklahomans to take action: contact your members of Congress today and urge them to protect and strengthen SNAP for the well-being of our communities.
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Hunger Free Oklahoma is an anti-hunger organization dedicated to improving food access for all Oklahoma. HFO leverages the power of collaboration to solve hunger in Oklahoma by improving systems, policies, and practices. Learn more at HungerFreeOK.org.
SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program, is a federally funded, state-administered nutrition program. In 2024, SNAP served nearly 700,000 Oklahomans and brought back over $1.5 billion of our tax dollars to our economy.