NORFOLK, Va. — The Trump administration has finalized a new rule for people who receive food stamps.
The new rule will limit states’ ability to provide people with food stamps when they don’t meet the federal work requirements.
In a Wednesday press release, Sonny Perdue, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, announced the final rule at the direction of President Donald Trump.
“The rule restores the system to what Congress intended: assistance through difficult times, not a way of life,” said Perdue.
Nationwide, the move will cause 688,000 people to lose access to food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In a press release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said the new rule will save the government $1.1 billion per year.
In Virginia, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services said about 4,500 people may lose their SNAP benefits.
Karen Joyner, CEO of the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank said if those individuals lose their
benefits, they’ll rely solely on food banks like hers as their resource for food.
“Anytime we add people to the lines that we serve, it becomes a challenge because we’re
already challenged. Our food donations have been down more than I’ve ever seen,” said Joyner. “It’s gonna be a struggle for us.”
The new rule will affect people between the ages of 18-49 who don't have any dependents and are not disabled. Those individuals will lose their SNAP benefits if they don’t meet the
SNAP requirement of working 20 hours a week or training for a job.
In the past, states with high unemployment rates have been able to use waivers to continue helping those people, but the new rule will limit states' ability to do that.
According to the Dept. of Social Services, there are currently 55 localities in Virginia exempt from the time limit and work requirements for SNAP. However, this new rule change would potentially reduce that number to less than five localities.
“A lot of these individuals, they may not have disabilities, as it’s defined, but they could have mental health issues and are not able to get jobs or they're just between jobs and rely on SNAP to bridge the gap between their jobs,” said Joyner.
Perdue said the new rule aims to “move more able-bodied SNAP recipients toward self-sufficiency and into employment."
But Joyner said, through her experience serving people, she’s learned that isn’t the case.
“What we find is taking people off the SNAP benefits does not help them a job, it just penalizes them for not being able to get a job, so it’s hitting you twice,” said Joyner.
“If these individuals could get a job, I believe that they would get a job. By taking them off of SNAP, you’re not giving them an opportunity to find a job. They’re two separate issues.”
While she disagrees with the new rule, she said her food bank will help as much as it can.
“It’s just is devastating to know that people can’t supply basic needs,” said Joyner. “We will do everything in our ability to make up for that, because that’s what we do, and that’s what we believe in.”
A spokesperson for the Virginia Dept. of Social Services said it plans to assist SNAP participants who are impacted by the change.
The Department provided this statement:
“In anticipation of this change, Virginia has committed to serving every SNAP participant impacted by this rule change in its state plan to the USDA. This provides the drawdown of additional federal funding to pay for education and training services. Additionally, a series of new public-private partnerships, including a partnership with Virginia Community Colleges, are being awarded to serve SNAP participants and draw down additional federal funds with no new state general fund dollars.”
The new rule will take effect on April 1st of 2020.