SNAP cuts could impact local grocery stores

(CNN) – For the last 86 years, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has helped millions of low-income families buy food.

However, the recent passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill act will result in the largest cuts the program has ever seen.

“It fill a, a crucial food gap for the most vulnerable people in our country,” says James Ziliak, director of the Center for Poverty at the University of Kentucky.

He says SNAP has served as an economic driver for local grocery stores and communities.

In 2023, SNAP accounted for $124 billion in sales at 262,000 retailers, half of which were at superstores such as Walmart, while a quarter went to supermarkets.

If recipients no longer have access to SNAP, it could lead to an economic hit for some communities.

Ziliak says this could include reduced employment at local grocery stores and, in extreme cases, potential closures.

House Republicans say the new law will “restore integrity” to the program and benefit grocers by pushing more people to work.

New work requirements expand to parents with children older than 13 and people ages 55 to 64, but studies show work requirements for SNAP do not increase employment.

Ziliak says, “People don’t jump into the labor force in big droves when they get confronted with work requirements, but what they do tend to do is drop out of the program altogether.”

He says that people could become more reliant on food pantries, churches or other charitable organizations that provide assistance.