About 25,000 Cuyahoga County residents who currently use SNAP benefits, or food stamps, will have to contend with work requirements under the recently passed federal “One Big Beautiful Bill,” according to county leaders.
That represents more than 10% of county residents enrolled in the program, which serves about 190,000 people. In Ohio, residents receive an average of $170 per month in SNAP benefits, according to state data, which they spend on groceries using what looks like a credit card.
The county does not yet know when the work requirements for SNAP will go into effect. It’s waiting on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to finalize rules.
The new law creates work requirements for older adults without children at home, parents whose children are older, veterans, former foster youth and people experiencing homelessness. In Cuyahoga County, that will impact:
- 17,000 adults, aged 55 to 64, without dependent children
- 8,000 residents who are part of households with parents whose kids are all aged 14 or older. This number includes kids.
- 1,500 recipients who are currently exempt from work rules because they are a veteran, former foster youth or homeless. Most in Cuyahoga County are homeless, according to Kevin Gowan, the director of Cuyahoga Job and Family Services.
At an event to discuss the federal bill Monday night, county officials and local nonprofit leaders lamented the work requirements, which they said would make it more difficult for residents to get benefits and for county agencies to dispense them.
“The new law threatens to unravel that safety net. It introduces changes that will make it harder, and in some cases impossible, for people to receive the help that they need,” said David Merriman, the county’s director of the Department of Health and Human Services. “… It will mean that the hungry will go hungry.”
Cuyahoga Job and Family Services, which helps residents access SNAP benefits, is already stretched thin. At the meeting, multiple residents complained about the long wait times to speak with a JFS representative. County officials worry the work rules will slow the system down even further.
The Trump administration has said that the work requirements in the bill “promote work, responsibility, and restore SNAP to serve the truly needy” by ensuring able-bodied adults without dependents earn income.
“SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times—we are strengthening this program to serve those who need it most,” the White House wrote in a June memo about the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The SNAP work requirements are expected to be felt before some of the other parts of the federal budget bill. Cuyahoga County has also estimated that the bill could blow a $7 million hole in its budget if the state doesn’t step in to fill it. Roughly 35,000 county residents could also lose Medicaid coverage because of new work requirements for the government health insurance program, officials said previously.
Refugees, asylees to lose food stamps
Another portion of the bill cuts off access to SNAP for legal immigrants such as refugees and recipients of asylum.
Because of the new rule, about 4,000 legal immigrants in Cuyahoga County are expected to lose their food assistance, Gowan said.
Re:Source Cleveland is a nonprofit that supports former refugees, humanitarian parolees, asylees and individuals with temporary protected status. Peter Kearns, the executive director, said the change will make life more difficult for international newcomers. Many of Re-Source’s clients come from conflict zones.
“Disproportionately, our folks have higher levels of SNAP enrollment rates because they are literally starting from zero in their first months and years here,” Kearns said.
Immigrant residents are also dealing with other changes coming from the Trump administration, Kearns said, such as longer wait times to get a green card or the cancellation of certain protected statuses.
Food banks prepping for need
Kristin Warzocha, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, said her organization has to prepare for changes to the SNAP program.
“For every one meal provided by a food bank nationwide, nine meals are provided by SNAP,” Warzocha said. “And what that means is when there are changes to the program — even changes that feel very small — they can have a large impact.”
Warzocha said food banks often act as a barometer for the amount of community resources available. After COVID, when government benefits like stimulus checks began flowing, the organization saw the need for its services decrease.
So she said her team is dedicated to informing residents about how to stay enrolled in SNAP benefits, despite the coming changes.
“One of my biggest concerns is just confusion,” Warzocha said. “A lot of people may not realize that they’re going to be required to meet work requirements for the first time. Being strong communicators is going to be critical.”