Overview
- Maryland reports roughly 35,861–36,000 people lost SNAP benefits after federal H.R. 1 rules took effect, and overall enrollment fell from about 680,000 to roughly 633,000 recipients.
- The hardest hit groups include adults ages 55–64 (about 12,401 people), families with teens 14–17 (about 11,974 people), people experiencing homelessness (about 11,472), and roughly 4,566 lawful immigrants.
- State officials say they are trying to reconnect eligible residents by expanding the Maryland Benefits One Application (which has linked about 289,554 people to benefits since launch), changing renewal processes, issuing new chip-and-tap EBT cards, and sending targeted text messages to roughly 25,000 affected people.
- A General Assembly audit found DHS wrongly paid benefits to some ineligible people — including one recipient with $2 million in lottery winnings and more than 1,850 people who were incarcerated — producing about $28 million in federal penalties that complicate the state's response.
- The federal law shifts more administrative costs to states and raises Maryland's projected administrative spending to about $158 million in FY2027, and advocates warn the cuts are already increasing demand at food banks and squeezing grocers that rely on SNAP customers.