167,000 fewer Michiganders on SNAP: What changed and how to get help

Michigan's food assistance rolls lost 167,345 people between June 2025 and August 2026 — about 11.9 percent of everyone who had been receiving SNAP. More than 53,000 of the people who left were children.

The drop wasn't because need disappeared. Not everyone who lost benefits was ineligible — the rules underneath the program changed while families were still using it. Kate Bauer, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, put it plainly: "gumming up the administrative process".

What changed

Michigan's expanded time-limited work requirements took effect statewide on March 1, 2026. The work-rule age range expanded from able-bodied adults ages 18–54 to ages 18–64, pulling in older adults who had never faced a time limit. The parent and caregiver exemption narrowed: a parent or caregiver is now generally exempt only when caring for a child under age 14, where the exemption once applied through age 17 — so parents of teenagers now face the work rule. Categorical exemptions that had protected veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and young adults under 24 who aged out of foster care were removed.

Affected adults must generally complete at least 80 hours per month of work, qualifying volunteer or community service, in-kind work, or an approved Michigan Works! employment-and-training activity to keep benefits beyond a limited period. Adults who fail to meet the requirement, qualify for a deferral, or establish good cause receive a "countable month," and benefits are limited to three countable months within any 36-month period. Geographic waivers became much harder to obtain: an area generally must have an unemployment rate above 10 percent under specified measures, so fewer places can opt out of the time limits.

The new federal rules also narrowed noncitizen SNAP eligibility: people who are not approved lawful permanent residents may no longer qualify, while refugees and those granted asylum are among the categories identified for continued eligibility.

The burden lands

For many households, the problem is proving and re-proving eligibility, not eligibility itself. Bauer described the compounding pressure: "Not only can people not get all the documentation they need," she said, "now our case workers are doing so much more work to try to get everything documented, that they can't handle nearly the number of cases that they used to". Bauer added, "People aren't getting calls back. Their questions are going unanswered". She said the result is not just administrative: "The only outcome of these work requirements is that it makes people lose benefits, which then spirals them downward. And then we have more families in poverty".

The state is now carrying more of the cost of the program at the same moment more people are cycling on and off benefits. Michigan's share of SNAP administrative costs rose from 50 percent to 75 percent effective October 1, 2026, an increase expected to cost the state about $94.3 million to $95 million annually. Erin Frisch, senior deputy director of the Economic Stability Administration at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said she expects the strain to flow into community food resources: "Folks are going to go to the food banks, to churches, wherever they might be able to go, to make up the difference".

MDHHS publishes a "Federal Changes to Medicaid and Food Assistance Programs" page summarizing the new restrictions and eligibility requirements, and its work-requirement rules set the detailed terms Michigan families must meet.

Food banks feel the strain

The charitable food system cannot substitute for SNAP. For every meal Michigan's charitable food network provides, SNAP provides about nine meals, according to the Food Bank Council of Michigan. Sheril Kirshenbaum, chief external relations officer of the Food Bank Council of Michigan, was blunt: "The charitable food system and food banks don't have the resources to replace all those food dollars".

The pressure is measurable across the state. Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes saw a 56 percent increase in people asking for help and was serving about 1,200 people a day at the time of the report. Associate director Greta Faworski said the pantry did not see its usual September decline after children returned to school — a sign demand is not easing the way it normally does. Christian Neighbors food pantry in West Michigan reported a 53 percent increase in visits since 2024 and a 23 percent increase during 2026. Fish & Loaves pantry regularly receives calls from people asking whether they can complete their required work or volunteer hours there, evidence the work rule is driving people to the charitable system for compliance, not just food.

What to do

Start with the exemptions. They still cover pregnancy, inability to work because of a physical or mental health condition, receiving disability benefits, and caring for a child under age 14.

If your SNAP benefits ended, reapply through MI Bridges at newmibridges.michigan.gov by selecting "Apply for Benefits," and upload the required identity, income, household, and work-rule documents.

If you have already used up your three countable months, you can regain eligibility by completing 80 hours of work, qualifying community service, or an approved activity within a 30-day period before reapplying, or by becoming exempt from the time-limited work requirement.

If a missed month had a good reason — illness or injury, lack of child care or transportation, homelessness, domestic violence, health or safety risk, or religion — report it when reapplying, because MDHHS may excuse it. Do not assume your benefits are gone without an official notice, and keep documentation of any work or exemption status carefully.

To reach someone today: the Food Bank Council of Michigan's "Food and Other Resources" helpline is 888-544-8773, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the MI Bridges help desk is 1-844-799-9876; and Michigan 2-1-1 connects to local food and other assistance. Calls to the Food Bank Council's assistance hotline rose from roughly 12–16 per day to 40–50 per day.