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How many people will lose SNAP in your town?

Cuts will hurt every corner of Connecticut

What would you be forced to take out of your grocery cart if your food budget went down by $25 a month? What about if it went down by $194 per month?

Many people have been trying to make less food stretch longer as prices continue to go up and paychecks stay the same. About 400,000 Connecticut residents currently use SNAP to help pay for groceries and keep themselves fed. But when federal cuts and new, unfair rules go into effect, tens of thousands of people in the state will suffer.

Fern, who lives in Hartford County, has used food pantries, budgeted carefully, and cooked “creatively” to stretch her groceries. It’s not always enough, and she pointed out that the least expensive food isn’t very healthy.

“SNAP has made it possible to eat healthier, especially with the cost of groceries,” she told us. “Meat, eggs, and food in general has gone up in price. I can eat without the stress.”

A new report from The Connecticut Project partner DataHaven estimates that 58,000 households in the state will lose at least $25 a month in SNAP benefits when cuts go into effect, but many will lose even more. The average household that will lose benefits will have $194 less a month to buy groceries.

People in every one of Connecticut’s 169 towns use SNAP to afford groceries and feed their families healthy meals. Without it, people skip meals, parents give up food so their children can eat, and our entire economy suffers.

In total, one in four Connecticut families using SNAP will receive less money for groceries because of the cruel federal cuts. The most people will be hurt in:

  • Hartford: 6,029 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • Bridgeport: 5,045 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • New Haven: 4,955 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • Waterbury: 4,659 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • New Britain: 2,867 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits

While larger cities will be hurt by cuts, Connecticut’s rural areas will also be hit hard. For example, in:

  • Windham: 794 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • New London: 895 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • Norwich: 1,215 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits
  • Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, and Thompson: More than 2,160 households will lose at least $25 a month in benefits

Cuts hurt everyone in every community. If Connecticut doesn’t protect people from losing SNAP, the state could lose 1,200 jobs, and our economy will lose more than $2.5 million next year. When it’s hard to make ends meet, people can cut back on buying food, which means that grocery stores and farmers can’t stay open or keep employees. Cutting SNAP not only hurts the people who receive it. It hurts our entire state’s economy. DataHaven estimates that each $1 cut from SNAP costs society $14 to $20 because of decreased sales at groceries stores and increased healthcare costs.

In addition to receiving less money for food, more than 20,000 adults in Connecticut – including older adults, parents of minor children, veterans, and adults leaving foster care – are at risk of losing SNAP altogether because of new rules around work requirements. People who are not citizens, including people seeking asylum and refugees, will no longer qualify for SNAP.

Take action now to fight for SNAP.
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