Elizabeth McCarthy, President & CEO
As leader of New Jersey’s largest anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization, I hear often from parents who are doing everything right — but still coming up short. I’m a mom, too, and I know how it feels to want nothing more than to keep your child fed, healthy, and safe. Out in the community, I’ve met mothers who skip meals so their kids can eat, dads who visit food pantries after work to put dinner on the table, grandparents providing daily childcare for lack of affordable alternatives, and teachers watching hungry children struggle to focus in class.
And now, Congress has passed drastic cuts and changes to SNAP — the lifeline that helps feed these families. These aren’t just abstract policy decisions — they will have real and dire consequences for our neighbors, for kids like yours and mine.
Last year alone, SNAP helped nearly 850,000 New Jerseyans — about 9% of the state’s population. Nearly half are children, one in three have a disability, and 20% are over 60. And with a very low fraud rate of less than 1%, SNAP is proven to be efficient and effective — delivering critical nutrition support while ensuring taxpayer dollars are responsibly used.
One of the most harmful provisions in the approved budget reconciliation is the expansion of work requirements. Previously, able-bodied adults aged 18 to 54 needed to work at least 20 hours per week to receive SNAP. The changes raise the age limit to 64, affecting thousands of New Jersey residents — including parents and grandparents who provide essential childcare. Only those caring for children aged 13 and under are exempt, and missing work requirements for just three months could mean losing benefits for three years.
These penalties don’t account for the reality of how families actually manage work and caregiving responsibilities. No parent or grandparent should be forced to leave a child in need of supervision home alone just to keep food on the table. For so many families already stretched to their limits and struggling to access nutritious food, affording childcare isn’t an option, and punishing them for that is cruel and unjust.
SNAP is not charity — it’s a public investment in people’s basic dignity, in children’s futures, and in the health of our economy. When people can’t eat, they can’t work productively, children can’t learn, and our entire economy suffers the consequences. Even as New Jersey leads the way in hunger-relief with unprecedented support and common-sense policies, federal SNAP changes will hit struggling families hard — no matter how committed the state remains.