Arizona has now dropped more than 450,000 people from the SNAP program since federal changes went into effect last July. That includes 196,000 children no longer receiving benefits.
A new report from the Arizona Center for Economic Progress shows that, based on DES data, about one in every three children who used SNAP benefits were removed from the program as of March.
The Arizona Department of Economic Security implemented changes to the SNAP application process to comply with federal cuts included in H.R. 1 — also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.
The changes include implementing new work requirements ostensibly designed to weed out “waste fraud and abuse” in the program.
But Arizona has cut more people from SNAP than any other state, and food banks say they’re overwhelmed as a result.
The Arizona Center for Economic Progress is a project of the Children’s Action Alliance — a nonprofit focused on children' s welfare. The center argued the SNAP losses are bad for the state economy.
“SNAP is one of the most effective tools we have to help families put food on the table and keep local economies moving,” Director Joseph Palomino said in a statement. “When hundreds of thousands of people lose that support, the consequences don’t stop at the dinner table — they ripple through our economy, our communities, and our future workforce.”
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The state agency responsible for confirming which Arizonans qualify for SNAP benefits reported dropping more than 3 million calls with potential beneficiaries during an 18 month period — as nearly half a million Arizonans who previously received food stamps were cut from the program. -
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The boy’s death and the pay-to-play allegations highlight questions about Arizona's congregate-care capacity for children, training for workers who care for them and oversight of providers and other contractors who hold leverage over the state simply due to their size and influence.
