USDA to require SNAP recipients to reapply for benefits

Announcement comes at a time when work requirement changes are already underway for SNAP

All Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients will have to reapply for benefits, U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced last week.

Rollins did not specify when recipients would be required to reapply or exactly how that process would be handled. The announcement comes amid changes to SNAP that are incoming or have already arrived, and those changes will affect recipients nationwide.

House Resolution 1, also known as the Big Beautiful Bill, was signed into law in July and makes several changes to SNAP, such as expanding time-limited work rules, according to the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Effective Nov. 1, more SNAP recipients are subject to work requirements and time limits. Federal law now mandates that recipients will be limited to three months of benefits in a three-year period unless they meet work requirements. Those requirements include working, volunteering or participating in training or education programs for at least 20 hours a week and reporting that work requirements are being met.

Recipients who are 18-64 years old, do not live with a dependent and/or child under age 14 and do not have a mental or physical condition preventing them from working will have to follow those new work rules. Previously, the age range was 18-54 years, and any dependent and/or child had to be 18 or younger.

On Dec. 1, changes to waived areas take effect nationwide. SNAP recipients living in counties or tribal nations with a waiver previously granted due to a lack of sufficient jobs are no longer exempt from work requirements. Under new guidelines, only areas with unemployment rates over 10% will now qualify for a waiver.

Approximately 42 million Americans receive SNAP benefits. More than 440,000 Minnesotans rely on SNAP to supplement their nutrition needs each month, while roughly 57,000 North Dakotans use the program.

According to Pew Research, in May 2025, the national average monthly benefit was about $188 per person. In Minnesota, the average monthly benefit is roughly $158 per person.

To stay up to date on your benefits, visit: Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.