The number of Florida residents who receive federal food assistance dropped by 23% during the past year, state data published this month show.
There were 2,285,099 residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in June, down from the 2,970,283 in June 2025, data maintained by the Department of Children and Families show.
That’s about a 23% reduction. SNAP enrollment dropped steadily in each of the past 12 months.
Although significant, the decrease was outpaced by the 26.1% reduction in financial assistance awarded, from nearly $541 million in June 2025 to about $399 million last month.
Enrollment in social services programs such as SNAP is countercyclical, meaning it increases as the economy worsens. But the drop-off in SNAP enrollment occurred even as the state’s unemployment rate increased during the year, U.S. Bureau and Labor Statistics data show.
The number of enrollees in SNAP was dipping before the July 2025 enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act but increased as the law took effect. The law slashes spending on the food security program by $187 billion over a decade.
To accomplish those costs savings, Congress required states with SNAP payment error rates of more than 6% to contribute toward the costs of the food beginning next year.
Under the law, states with error rates of 10% or more would have to contribute 15% toward food costs, which puts Florida on track to have to pay upward of $1 billion to maintain food benefits at existing levels.
Payment error rates measure the accuracy of each state’s eligibility and benefit determinations and include overpayments and underpayments.
The federal law also:
- Limited the categories of lawfully present immigrants who could qualify for benefits.
- Extend work requirements to older adults aged 55 through 64 and parents with children aged 14 and older.
- Eliminated work requirement exemptions for veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young people who recently aged out of foster care.
SNAP provides nutritional support for low-income seniors, people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, and other individuals and families with low incomes. Although funded by the federal government, SNAP in Florida is administered by DCF’s Office of Economic Self-Sufficiency, which is responsible for determining eligibility.
National trend
Florida is not the only state to see a reduction in SNAP enrollees, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, but it experienced one of the more noticeable dips.
Nationwide, SNAP participation fell by more than 4.5 million people, or about 11%, since the federal budget bill took effect, the nonpartisan research and policy institute reports. Arizona saw a 44% reduction in its SNAP participation from July 2025 to June 2026 and Louisiana had a 21% reduction.
The center put Florida’s reduction rate at 21% and Oklahoma’s at 18%.
The center relied on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Federal data differ from state data due to differences in state and federal reporting protocols.
The atrophy in enrollment occurred despite a double-digit increase in the number of requests for assistance, which from June 2025 to June 2026 jumped by 15.2%.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Contact Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter.
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