The deep cuts to SNAP passed in 2025 threaten to push many families already living on the margin even closer to crisis, reducing or completely terminating their critical nutrition benefits through increased administrative burden. In 2025, we undertook several initiatives to fight back against unjust new barriers and help mitigate their consequences — protecting food access for families who cannot afford to lose it.
Leading up to the passage of the changes, we encouraged people to contact their representatives and urge them to oppose cuts to SNAP. Through CFBNJ’s Congress Plus online platform, our supporters spoke out by sending nearly 4,500 messages to New Jersey legislators.
We also created SNAPshot NJ, a new, multi-year initiative designed to help New Jerseyans navigate the changing SNAP landscape while giving policymakers a clearer picture of real-world impacts across the state. Through this effort — which is expected to continue through 2028 — CFBNJ will educate neighbors about the new rules and support them in complying so they can keep their benefits. We will also partner with other food banks, as well as pantries and local food assistance organizations, to gather insight into neighbors’ lived experiences so we can document the law’s effects and engage policymakers with this evidence to advance responsive, neighbor-informed policies.
Several such policies are reflected in the advocacy agenda we developed in 2025 — priorities that will continue to guide our work in the months and years to come. CFBNJ is advocating on the state level for solutions that would increase access to SNAP for students in four-year colleges, rewrite all New Jersey state forms at a 4th-6th grade reading level, ensure that SNAP recipients receive clear and timely information about changes and work to protect them from penalties if they attempt
to comply with new requirements but are unable to through no fault of their own.
Together, these efforts reflect CFBNJ’s commitment to stand with our neighbors – not just meeting today’s needs but working to shape a more just and accessible food system for the future.