It’s now harder for 36,000 Connecticut residents to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits, formerly known as food stamps.

Stricter eligibility requirements officially began on Monday as part of Congress’ “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

Food banks across Connecticut are still recovering from the 43-day federal government shutdown and the Thanksgiving holiday rush.

But soon, pantries could see even more demand.

Starting Monday, SNAP work requirements added adults age 55-64. And parents with children ages 14 and older, those experiencing homelessness and veterans are no longer exempt.

Once a member of those groups reapplies for benefits, they must document 80 hours per month working, taking job training classes or volunteering.

“Or they have to earn at least $217.50 a month through work,” said Dan Ciacomi, director of program oversight and grants administration for the Connecticut Department of Social Services. “Work can be employment, self-employment. We have individuals who collect cans, for example.”

Those that don’t meet the work requirements can only receive benefits for three months out of the next three years.

DSS estimates that 36,000 people – or 10% of everyone on the food program – could lose SNAP coverage over the next few months. Nationwide, the figure is 2.4 million people over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The state is trying to get those numbers down.

“Looking at technology changes, process changes, expanding our communication to let individuals know of what the new requirements are,” Ciacomi said.

As of Monday, Connecticut is also no longer able to issue waivers in areas with high unemployment.

The OBBB also makes refugees, asylum seekers and certain human trafficking survivors ineligible for SNAP. Connecticut and 20 other states sued the Trump administration over some of those rules last week.

The new law also eliminated SNAP nutrition education funding as of Oct. 1. Starting in 2026, states will have to pay a 25% larger share for the SNAP program. That could cost Connecticut $252 million, according to No Kid Hungry.

And in 2027, states face penalties for payment error rates above 6%. Connecticut had a 10.25% error rate in FY2024, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

State lawmakers just approved a $500,000 emergency fund to combat SNAP food cuts through February.

“We have, you know, up to 500 million that the legislature gave me discretion to make sure that people don't go hungry in a case like this,” said Gov. Ned Lamont.

The new work requirements are part of a series of SNAP changes that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through this summer.

“SNAP is a broken program. SNAP is full of corruption,” Trump’s agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, told CNN. “We found 186,000 dead people.”

In April, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found that “SNAP fraud is rare” and most issues are due to unintentional mistakes.

But Rollins said the statistics are misleading because Connecticut and 28 other states are fighting USDA’s demand to turn over SNAP recipients’ personal data, including social security numbers.

“We asked for the SNAP data earlier this year,” she said. “It has never been turned over to the federal government before.”

Rollins also recently suggested requiring all SNAP recipients to reapply from scratch.

As for Democrats, Sen. Richard Blumenthal is pushing for a vote to roll back the SNAP cuts.

“I'm going to be fighting this week and before the end of this year to eliminate those restrictions,” he said Monday. “Republicans have promised votes. We’re going to hold them accountable.”

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