Melissa Shadden-Cyr: SNAP’s new work requirement hurdles prohibits users

To The Daily Sun,

In 2025, the Trump Administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was passed, which included policies which require all SNAP recipients under the age of 65 to document 80 hours per month of work activities unless they have a dependent under age 14, or a disability.

These new work requirements presuppose that SNAP recipients who aren’t working don’t want to work, and must be compelled to. However, they don’t address any of the barriers which are preventing people ― especially in rural areas ― from obtaining gainful employment.

The cost of owning a car is up 40.59% since 2020, according to an index from Navy Federal Credit Union. This increase is associated with the surging costs of vehicles themselves, but also repairs, insurance, and gas. In rural New Hampshire, vehicle ownership is often a bridge to financial self-sufficiency. Without a vehicle, finding employment is exponentially more difficult. It makes it harder to access training, get to interviews, and attend pre-employment appointments (like fingerprinting and employment physicals). Some employers also ask throughout the application process if interviewees have reliable transportation; without it, they’re often screened out.

Even if they manage to get through all of this and have a start date at their new job, finding a way to work becomes a daily hurdle. Furthermore, the jobs that allow SNAP recipients to work and retain their benefits pay a very low wage and make saving up to afford a car a distant and frustrating goal. Then, when one just exceeds the income limit, they could quickly lose access to food assistance; their savings then becomes their grocery money.

Work requirements do nothing to improve access to employment ― they reduce access to food. If our goal is a stronger economy and a healthier workforce, we must start by improving, not diminishing, access to food.

Melissa Shadden-Cyr

Laconia