Posted on 02/09/26
| News Source: Maryland Matters
Baltimore, MD - Feb. 9, 2026 - The first wave of Marylanders who cannot prove they are working at least 20 hours a week could start losing their monthly food assistance by the end of this month under new federal rules.
The new work requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is one of the first major changes to came out of the federal budget reconciliation bill HR 1, better known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” The law expands number of “able-bodied adults” who need to prove to state officials that they are working, volunteering or attending a job training program for approximately 20 hours a week (80 hours a month) to stay enrolled in SNAP.
Prior to HR 1, work requirements applied to people aged 18 through 54 who did not have dependents under the age of 18. The law expands the requirement up to age 64 and, while households with children aged 13 and under will remain exempt from work requirements, SNAP households with older teens are now subject to the rule.
HR 1 also removed work exemptions previously granted to veterans, people who are homeless and young adults who recently aged out of foster care. All told, Maryland officials estimate that around 80,000 recipients will start to face work requirements for the first time this year.
Advocates worry that people unable to meet the new requirements will lose a “critical lifeline” if they fall out of SNAP coverage.
“We know that lots of people for whom their ability to receive SNAP benefits is a critical lifeline — it helps keep them able to access food and keep food on the table,” said Meg Kimmel, president and CEO for the Maryland Food Bank.
SNAP benefits are funded by the federal government, with states responsible for the cost of administering the program and overseeing the distribution of benefits. The average monthly assistance in Maryland in fiscal 2024 was $180 per recipient, slightly below the national average of $187, though the amount varies based on household and income. Approximately 680,000 Marylanders use SNAP benefits.
While state officials estimate that an additional 80,000 SNAP recipients will be subject to the work requirements at some point this year, it’s challenging to estimate how many people could lose their SNAP benefit at the end of the month, officials said, because they are being applied on a rolling basis.
Everyone receives a three-month window to comply with the work requirements unless they have an exemption. That window does not start until the SNAP recipient is up for redetermination, an annual check-in with state officials to ensure that the beneficiary still qualifies for the monthly food benefit.
Work requirements were supposed to start with people who had their SNAP redeterminations in November, but due to the prolonged government shutdown that disrupted federal activities, the U.S. Department of Agriculture delayed the three-month window start to December. That means that recipients whose redeterminations fell in either November and December have until the end of February to comply with new work requirements.
“March would be the first month when SNAP customers newly subject to work requirements may lose access if they are unable to meet them,” said a written statement from Lillian Price, spokesperson for the Maryland Department of Human Services, which manages the SNAP program in the state. “The actual date would depend on the timing of their initial certification or redetermination.”
Work requirements for government programs aiming to help low-income households afford food and other basic needs are controversial.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other supporters of work requirements believe that SNAP should be a temporary solution while people look for jobs during hard times, not a benefit for people to rely on without trying to find employment opportunities.
But advocates say most people who use SNAP already work, though they can struggle to keep up with the paperwork to prove they have a job or are exempt from work requirements through disability or other medical needs. Work requirements ultimately kick people off SNAP who may still need it, advocates say.
“Taking away food assistance benefits does not take away the food insecurity,” said Anne Wallerstedt, also with the Maryland Food Bank.
Kimmel believes “we’ve taken a few big steps backwards” with the work requirements and other challenges to SNAP under HR 1.
“Anything that creates barriers to consistent benefits deployment is really going to be really tough on communities and we know that there will be people who lose their benefits and have nowhere to turn except the charitable food system,” she said.
“Life, unfortunately, is just not that easy for everyone in our state in our nation,” she said.