Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at a press conference on the steps of the USDA, July 14, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty

On December 1, under President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—which more than 40 million Americans rely on—introduced new work requirements for people verging on retirement age.

Millions of adults ages of 55 to 64 may now be locked out of the program if they’re not able to work—and in a one-two punch of attacks on federal services, the USDA has terminated its annual food insecurity survey, making it impossible to know just how devastating an impact Trump’s backdoor SNAP cuts will have on aging adults who are unable to get exemptions from their state.

In normal conditions, said Tufts University food economist Parke Wilde. policymakers and government........

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