Following Congressional cuts to programming like SNAP, many experts and advocates worry that food insecurity will increase nationwide. Photo by Justin Sullivan, Getty Images.

By Whitney Downard
Indiana Capital Chronicle

INDIANAPOLIS — Low-income Hoosiers are about to get a whole lot hungrier.

At least, that’s the concern of state advocates and national researchers focused on combatting food insecurity after Congress decided to cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, earlier this month.

The latest estimate projects that the federal government will save between $5.7 billion and $6 billion each year on SNAP, starting in fiscal year 2028 because it is shifting some costs to states. New work requirements for recipients, which start two years earlier, will trim federal spending by another $68.6 billion.

Mark Lynch

That delayed impact will prolong uncertainty for the experts, but means that millions of enrollees won’t feel the brunt of the cuts until after the critical midterm elections — which some critics say is a political calculation to retain a Republican majority in Congress. However, it will take states some time to implement the new changes required under the federal budget bill.

Some of the savings come from shifting the cost to states and penalizing states with error rates above 6% — which also includes underpayments.

Erica Kenney, an associate professor with Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and fellow Harvard associate professor of public health, Cindy Leung, emphasized the importance of SNAP and shared their concerns about funding cuts.

Indiana has 588,184 SNAP beneficiaries across 281,112 households, as of April 2025.

More About SNAP

Previous research indicates that SNAP reduces food insecurity by 30% — and has an even bigger impact on those with severe need, the Harvard experts shared.

Other programs, such as the Women, Infant and Children program or free and reduced price lunches at schools, target specific populations. The latter, however, could also shrink if SNAP enrollment is reduced because local enrollment is used to funnel dollars into the program.

An estimated 38% of SNAP households work and simply don’t make enough to feed their families, said Leung. Those who don’t work include the elderly, those with disabilities and children.

Often, SNAP is used as a last resort because the paperwork poses a barrier, Leung said, and is used for just a few months during times of extreme poverty.

Erica Kenney

Having a well-fed community also reduces the prevalence of chronic disease and cognitive impairment for older adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic, states expanded their SNAP programming and reported drops in food insecurity — only to reverse those gains once eligibility and benefits tightened up again.

SNAP reduces healthy care expenditures and medical costs for participants — even reducing emergency room visits, Kenney added. By getting more and better access to food, pregnant mothers birth babies with higher birth weights, setting their children up for healthier lives.

Some states, like Texas, are already shifting their food insecurity programming in response to SNAP funding cuts. The Lone Star State opted out of a program that feeds families during the summer months because of the cost associated with federal funding uncertainty, according to the Texas Tribune. Cost also played a role in Indiana’s decision to withdraw from the program, also known as SUN Bucks, which deposited a small amount of money onto parents’ benefit cards.

Still, Mark Lynch, Director of Advocacy with the Indy Hunger Network, said one location outside of Marion County had a two-hour pickup line for summer meals.

Notably, SNAP doesn’t cover a participant’s full food budget, often covering between two to three weeks of food purchases.

But advocates and researchers alike had concerns about whether non-SNAP programs could effectively close the gap in food insecurity left by cuts, Kenney said.

Indiana opted to keep state funding for food banks flat during the next biennium at $2 million, the rare budget line item that didn’t get slashed following a dismal revenue forecast. This week the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, led by Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, announced how the $2 million would be disbursed to Indiana food banks.

What About SNAP-Ed?

One portion of SNAP will be eliminated this September: the SNAP Education line item worth $536 million.

Indiana’s $7.4 million portion is used to fund education programming like cooking classes, guides to budgeting and nutrition-dense recipes.

But the biggest impact could be the loss of a statewide app known as Community Compass that maps out food pantries, stores accepting food benefits and more. First launched in Marion County, a statewide funding boost expanded the app’s boundaries to include all Hoosiers back in 2021.

The Indiana Department of Health said it paid Indy Hunger Network $118,847.11 for the Community Compass for federal fiscal year 2025. Plans for the future of the app, however, are uncertain. 

Cindy Leung

Other SNAP-Ed programming, such as that provided by Purdue University’s Extension Service, will also be impacted, though it’s unclear how many staff could lose their positions.

Lynch highlighted other uses, including the Cooking Matters program that uses community kitchens at senior living facilities, jails, women’s shelters and apartment complexes to teach cooking skills and hand out groceries.

When asked, Leung said she didn’t have a sense of how this aligned with the Make America Healthy Again agenda, as promoted by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Kenney noted that SNAP-Ed planning resources are also available to everybody, regardless of whether or not they have federal funding.