More than 37,000 New Mexicans at risk of losing SNAP assistance

SANTA FE – Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday condemned the Trump Administration’s move to limit participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. The new rule limits adults – aged 18-49 without a dependent and without a disability – to three months of food assistance in a 36-month period unless the individual is working or participating in a work program for at least 80 hours per month. The change is likely to eliminate food benefits for roughly 700,000 Americans. New Mexico currently has a statewide waiver for Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) work requirements. The waiver expires Feb. 29, 2020. The new rule does not allow for statewide waivers. Without the waiver, 37,164 New Mexicans are at risk of losing their food benefits if they cannot find employment or a voluntary position that meets the new rule’s requirement. Gov. Lujan Grisham issued the following statement on USDA’s final rule regarding the ABAWD work requirement for SNAP benefits: “In a state like New Mexico, this rule will devastate families who can least afford it; this rule is designed to effectively deny people food benefits by instituting punitive work requirements that may be unattainable. “The Trump Administration is apparently unconcerned with the effect this rule will have on individuals already living with food insecurity. This rule will punish New Mexicans who want to work but, through no fault of their own, have not yet found a job or have been disadvantaged by economic factors outside their control. It is flatly unacceptable.”