SNAP

As lawmakers prepare Kentucky’s biennial budget for the 2026 legislative session, the state budget director says the Commonwealth will need to set aside over $115 million more than in previous years to keep giving its residents in need food stamps and – because of the federal reconciliation bill passed earlier this summer – potentially hundreds of millions of dollars on top of that.

Congress is considering major cuts to SNAP food assistance benefits. They could have an outsized impact in Appalachian Kentucky, where more than one in five rely on the benefits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is allowing Kentucky residents use of its Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – known as D-SNAP – for those recovering from severe weather on May 16th.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — which helps more than one in 10 Tennesseans get groceries — is already in legal trouble in the state for delayed benefits and other mismanagement concerns. It could be soon be undergoing massive cuts.

While the changes by the federal government affect only a small portion of the about 618,000 Kentuckians who receive SNAP benefits — nearly half are children or the elderly — the benefits are important to those in need, said Eric Friedlander, secretary of the health services cabinet.

Anyone who lost power following severe weather across Kentucky might be eligible for disaster reimbursement during the month of May. The program is to help offset any loss of food for residents who lost power following the storms.

House Bill 367, which is currently stalled in the Kentucky Senate, would make it harder for residents to qualify for SNAP benefits. An opponent says it could affect farmers’ businesses and livelihoods.

The Kentucky Legislature may make it harder for people to qualify for federal benefits that help them afford groceries. But the proposal failed a key vote Thursday.

Kentucky’s House Bill 367 could exclude people from SNAP benefits if they have a few thousand dollars in savings.

A Kentucky House committee voted in favor of a bill Thursday that would make it harder for residents to qualify for SNAP benefits.