SNAP Changes In Trump Budget Mean Time Limits For Some Pennsylvanians On Food Assistance

By Kate Giammarise, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

September 10, 2025

New rules and time limits are now in place for many adults who receive food stamps who don’t work and don’t have minor children.

The rule changes went into effect Sept. 1 because of the Trump administration’s budget bill — also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — that was signed into law over the summer.

More than 1.9 million Pennsylvanians are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP or food stamps.

The state’s Department of Human Services estimates that nearly 144,000 Pennsylvanians could lose SNAP benefits due to these changes.

As of Sept. 1, anyone in the SNAP program between ages 18 and 54 who doesn’t have a dependent child under age 18 and is considered able to work will have to prove they are working at least 20 hours a week or 80 hours a month, volunteering, or in a training program.

There are some exemptions, such as for individuals who are pregnant, caring for an ill family member, or people who have applied for or are receiving Unemployment Compensation.

(More people will be subject to this rule after Nov. 1, when it applies to any adult up to age 65 who does not have a dependent child under age 14. Additionally, on Nov. 1, certain groups who had automatically been exempt from this rule no longer will be, such as veterans, people who are homeless, and young adults who have aged out of foster care.)

If people cannot prove they are meeting these work requirements, they will be cut off from benefits after three months.

Ann Sanders, a public policy advocate with Pittsburgh-based anti-hunger group Just Harvest, said the policy doesn’t make sense.

“People don’t become more employable or have better health outcomes if you take away food,” Sanders said.

Because of the complex changes and reporting requirements, the department has set up a website with detailed information to help let people know if they are subject to new rules and what they have to do at dhs.pa.gov/work.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services said the new rules are an unfunded mandate that will place “significant new burdens on both clients and caseworkers.”

The department is developing an IT system to track work requirements and significantly increase staffing, the agency said in a statement.

The Trump administration has said not enough people on the SNAP program are working.

“The mission of the program has failed,” the White House said in a Q and A about changes related to the bill. “SNAP was intended to be temporary help for those who encounter tough times — we are strengthening this program to serve those who need it most.”

Of the close to two million Pennsylvanians who receive SNAP, about 800,000 are between ages 18–64, according to DHS. Last year, 43% of that group — approximately 350,000 individuals — earned wages while receiving SNAP, according to state statistics.

The set of complex changes to the program with additional paperwork requirements comes as Pennsylvania and most other states are working to reduce errors in the SNAP program; states will have to pay potentially hundreds of millions in additional funds to the feds if their error rate is too high.

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