Why food benefits usage is at its lowest since the Great Recession

WBUR

Published October 20, 2026 at 10:03 AM MDT

A person loads groceries in plastic bags into their vehicle, May 18, 2026, at a grocery store in Cincinnati. (Joshua A. Bickel/AP)

Here & Now‘s Lisa Mullins speaks with food policy journalist Helena Bottemiller Evich about why the number of people receiving federal food assistance has hit its lowest point in nearly 20 years.

Experts chalk up a lot of it to the One Big Beautiful Bill, which made the largest cuts to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in its history.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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