The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the country's largest federal food assistance program. You may have previously heard these income-based benefits referred to as food stamps.
SNAP provides monthly funds to families and individuals for use at authorized grocery retailers. Florida has a population of over 22 million residents, and more than 13 percent of those residents receive SNAP benefits.
Starting April 20, Florida will restrict the foods that SNAP benefits can be used to purchase in an effort to cut unhealthy intake and bolster nutrition. Candy, soda, and energy drinks are among the items that will no longer be allowed.
"It's understandable, this attention on making sure that people have access to healthy foods. There are some practical and logistical challenges that come with implementing such restrictions," says Sky Beard, the Florida Director for No Kid Hungry, part of a national campaign run by the nonprofit Share Our Strength.
"We just want to make sure that families that are receiving SNAP are able to do so with dignity and the respect that they deserve," Beard says.
Florida lawmakers are also considering legislation that would raise the age of work requirements to 64 and require a photo ID on what's known as EBT cards to get the benefits.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, says this action is necessary after the federal Big Beautiful Bill changed the program to penalize states with high error rates.
"There is a reason why our error rate in EBT cards is almost three times the federal requirement. We have a 15 percent error rate. That's huge," Gaetz told lawmakers. "We've got to do something about it, not only because we want to avoid a federal penalty, but because it is absolutely terrible economic stewardship. It's legislative malpractice to let that happen."
The state is working to significantly reduce the error rate, which is now being calculated to figure how much must be sent to the federal government to pay for SNAP. The change is part of the Big Beautiful Bill (H.R. 1) signed by President Donald Trump last July.
"(SNAP) has always and forever been 100 percent paid by the federal government," Beard says. "The simplest way to think of an error rate is the accuracy of a state in determining SNAP benefits for families over a given period of time…It can be an over or underpayment issue…The error rates are really the key to looking at what Florida will have to pay."
If Florida's error rate stays around 15 percent, Beard says the state will likely have to pay about a billion dollars a year to maintain SNAP benefits as they are now.
"In order for states not to have to pay, we have to get that number down below 6 percent," she says. "It is a delicate balance because we know that SNAP is one of the best tools we have in the toolbox for fighting food insecurity."
We discuss SNAP changes on this week's Speaking Of.
Florida will ultimately wind up paying more for SNAP since additional administrative costs are being shifted from the federal government to states. That's upwards of $50 million in Florida's case, in addition to any expenses caused by the error rate.
"We got a little bit of a taste of what this felt like during the government shutdown" last November, says Second Harvest of the Big Bend CEO Monique Ellsworth. The food bank helps roughly 100,000 people in its 16-county service area.
"For every one meal a food bank offers, SNAP is offering nine," Ellsworth says. "So as the federal benefits change and what our local families are offered through benefit programs change, food banks and charitable food programs will likely struggle."
Click LISTEN above to hear the entire conversation.
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