HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Gov. Ned Lamont announced plans to help keep food on the table for thousands of people in the state who have lost their food assistance in the last few months.
The plans involved using $8.5 million from Connecticut’s Federal Cuts Response Fund to provide $300 grocery assistance cards.
Lamont said roughly 25,000 people in the state are expected to lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. The cards will go to them.
“Connecticut will not stand by as the Trump administration uses hunger as a weapon against working families, veterans, and our most vulnerable,” Lamont said. “These new SNAP work requirements represent a cruel decision and fundamental shift away from the program’s core mission of ensuring our neighbors don’t go hungry. I am particularly troubled by the decision to eliminate the exemption for veterans who risked their lives for our country and now are having the rug pulled out from under them. We are providing this assistance as a bridge to prevent people from going hungry as we help them navigate these changes. I hope that Congress will end the inhumane and immoral cuts that President Trump pushed for after Americans elect a new Congress this fall.”
Federal rule changes
People lost their SNAP benefits after President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” was signed into law last July.
According to the USDA, the law expanded SNAP work requirements, now applying to adults up to age 64. Previously, the cutoff was 54.
It also stripped exemptions from veterans, homeless individuals, and young adults aging out of foster care.
Parents of teenagers lost protection too. The dependent child exemption now only covers kids under 14, not 18.
The state comptroller said the average monthly benefit dropped from $332 to $314 per household.
Who’s eligible
Under Lamont’s plan, eligible individuals who have recently lost SNAP eligibility due to federal changes in work requirements will receive a grocery assistance card that can be used to purchase food at grocery stores.
While applying for benefits, applicants will be connected with services to help them regain SNAP eligibility where possible.
Lamont said these benefits and services will be administered by the Connecticut Department of Social Services through a partnership with the state’s network of community action agencies, which will assist with outreach, eligibility verification, and distribution of benefits.
In addition to the grocery card funding, the governor said the plan includes $1 million for administrative costs related to the distribution of this aid and related services.
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