The number of Worcester residents receiving SNAP food benefits fell by 11,166 between July 2025 and August 2026, a 21.4% drop, according to state Department of Transitional Assistance caseload reports.
The city had 52,146 active SNAP clients in July 2025 and 40,980 in August 2026, the reports show. Project Bread, a statewide anti-hunger nonprofit, highlighted the decline as it presses the state to hire more DTA caseworkers.
Statewide, the DTA data show about 204,000 fewer active SNAP clients over the same period. Project Bread estimates that 70,000 children have lost benefits since Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025. The federal law tightened SNAP eligibility and added paperwork for recipients and for DTA, the state agency that runs the program…