Protect Texas’ investment in SNAP
By Houston Food Bank
July 22, 2026
July 4th was the 250th anniversary of our country – an opportunity to reflect on our history and what kind of future we want to build. It also marked one year since Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), legislation that brought significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Under H.R. 1, SNAP work requirements expanded to include additional groups, such as older Americans ages 60-64, veterans, and youth who aged out of foster care. If you don’t meet the requirements, you can only receive SNAP for 3 months every 3 years. It is worth noting that the majority of individuals on SNAP were already working, but the administration’s hope for the future was that by removing exemptions more people would do so. Reality is that unemployment and the rate of those underemployed have remained fairly steady in the last year. What has changed is a dramatic decrease in the number of people participating in SNAP.
SNAP is designed to respond to economic conditions, which currently aren’t improving; so there are connections to HR 1. But what we are concerned about is that as fewer families have access to SNAP there will be more dependence on the charitable food system. And, food banks were never designed to replace federal nutrition programs.
But SNAP at the state level is also facing a challenge. Since it was created in the 1960’s, the federal government has covered the full cost of SNAP benefits, while states shared fifty percent responsibility for administrative costs. HR 1 changed this funding structure.
What does the future hold? For Texas, there is an over $700 million price tag based on our Payment Error Rate (PER), meaning how accurately SNAP benefits are calculated. However, the federal government could give it and other states more time to improve their PER, which in Texas has historically been low.
Historically, SNAP benefits have been fully funded by the federal government, while costs to administer the program were shared between the federal government and the state. Under recent federal changes, states with a SNAP payment error rate (based on administrative oversights resulting in under or over payments) above 6% must pay a portion of SNAP benefits.
Previously, Texas had an error rate below 6%, but a sharp increase in Medicaid applications and renewals during the pandemic created challenges that temporarily increased the rate.
Texas is actively improving training, staffing, and processes to lower the error rate again. A two-year delay from Congress would give the state time to complete these improvements and avoid costly federal penalties. Without that flexibility, state leaders may face difficult budget decisions that could affect access to food assistance and increase demand on the charitable food system.
Please, help us build a future that supports the charitable food system and SNAP for families who are eligible. Participate in this quick campaign to let your members of Congress know Texas needs a short 2-year delay.
