Nearly 12,000 people in New Bedford and Fall River lost SNAP benefits between mid-2025 and mid-2026 amid new federal eligibility rules and severe state processing bottlenecks.
New Bedford saw 6,308 residents drop off (an 18.65% decline) from June 2025 to August 2026, per DTA data. Fall River lost 5,637, according to Project Bread. Both are high-need Gateway cities where SNAP has long covered a large share of households.
The July 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill expanded work requirements to adults up to age 64 and parents of teens (roughly 20 hours a week of work or training) and ended benefits for many lawful immigrants, including refugees and asylees. Some of the enrollment drop reflects people who no longer qualify under these tighter rules. At the same time, DTA is so understaffed that about 77% of calls to its assistance line are blocked by high-volume messages. People who cannot reach a caseworker often lose benefits for weeks or months while paperwork sits or appeals drag on, including some who remain eligible. Advocates say many affected workers have irregular hours that are hard to document…