SNAP login window. (Photo: WEWS.)
A year ago, the Republican One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the largest cuts to food stamps in the program’s history. Currently, 100,000 Ohioans are left without assistance, and the state is bracing for huge modern costs without federal aid.
The Trump/Republican spending bill made the largest-ever cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which largely benefits children, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
SNAP cuts affected millions of Americans in need.
According to Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP’s director of policy and advocacy at the national Food Research and Action Center, not only did the spending bill cause stern damage, but the longest federal shutdown in history that followed it meant that even those who were able to get benefits couldn’t get them on time.
While all 50 states have seen severe impacts, Plata-Nino said states like Arizona have seen more than 50% declines in SNAP benefits. She said that in Florida and Georgia, nearly 700,000 people lost benefits even though they still needed assist.
“This means that children will have less to eat,” Plata-Nino said. “For families, it may mean that there is simply no food on the table and they may not be able to pay their rent because they have to pay for it.”
Since Ohio’s cuts, SNAP has dropped 7% to about 100,000 people.
While the Ohio Association of Food Banks also serves people living just above the poverty level that qualifies for SNAP, Executive Director Joree Novotny said food banks work with SNAP to “fill gaps, prevent hunger and promote nutrition,” even as demand at food banks increases.
Novotny said the association works with the state and counties to protect access to SNAP because many factors negatively impact the living conditions of Ohioans, including inflation, consumer prices and other costs.
The theft of SNAP benefits also impacted the system, she added, increasing the “overall economic burden” for thousands of Ohio families.
“All of this means continued pressure on Ohio food banks and their local hunger relief partners, while at the same time the supply of food from retail and manufacturer donations and federal commodity programs declines,” Novotny told the Capital Journal.
Modernization of SNAP cards used for purchases was approved by the Ohio General Assembly, and Novotny praised legislative action to provide food banks with emergency funds when the federal government shutdown made SNAP benefits impossible.
“These and other efforts will be important to the food security of Ohio families and the continued strength of Ohio’s interconnected food supply chain,” says Novotny.
In addition to the drastic cuts, the spending bill also changed the way states contribute, increasing state administrative costs from 50% to 75%.
“This means that SNAP has become a line item in the budget, and Ohio is going to pay an additional approximately $160 million… to continue the program,” Plata-Nino said.
States can also decide to opt out of the program if costs are too high, but Ohio currently plans to continue the program.
The Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services said lawmakers “helped fill the gap” for the raise, which takes effect in October.
An critical part of analyzing individual state SNAP programs is the error rate, or how true the payments are.
The index shows how often states see common errors in SNAP benefit participation.
According to the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, fraud is not included in the error rate, but factors such as failure to report income, incorrect household composition or miscalculation of household income or expenses are included.
Both states and the federal government conduct error rate analysis, and Plata-Nino said sometimes these separate analyzes can differ.
It’s critical to note error rates accurately because that number determines how much the federal government will contribute to states, and an wrong rate could mean less money flowing into state programs under the modern law.
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Ohio focused on error rates for SNAP.
According to a June 25 news release, the Department of Jobs and Family Services said Ohio’s SNAP payment accuracy rate improved to 6.76% in 2025 compared to 2024, when the rate was 9.13%.
“We have worked closely with counties to improve payment accuracy by reducing common SNAP errors,” department director Matt Damschroder said in a statement. “Together, we have made significant progress over the past year and remain committed to managing these critical public resources even more effectively.”
The department noted the importance of a lower rate as changes in federal SNAP cost-sharing draw a line for states.
According to the department, states with an error rate below 6% will continue to have 100% of benefit costs funded, while in states above 6%, benefit costs will be covered “to an increasing extent.”
The 2025 error rate will not be used to determine the state’s cost-sharing, but Damschroder and the department said it “shows that improving Ohio can significantly reduce potential costs.”
If the 2024 rate of 9.13% was used to calculate Ohio’s costs, the state would have to spend $321 million. At the 2025 rate, the cost would be $160 million.
According to the state, about 1.4 million Ohioans receive SNAP benefits each month, at a cost of more than $270 million.
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Plata-Nino said there is still hope that the SNAP cuts could be reversed through the farm bill, which is still under debate in Congress.
She said “at least” the Center for Food Research and Action and other organizations have asked Congress to delay implementing cost-sharing changes for all states.
Although the current draft versions of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are “cost neutral,” meaning there will be no changes to the SNAP program, Plata-Nino said Democrats are trying to hold off until changes are made.
But without a crystal ball, it’s difficult to predict how most Republicans and President Donald Trump will move.
“We just don’t know how this administration will behave,” she said.
