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SNAP CUTS DISPROPORTIONATELY HURT PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES  
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Hayley Brown
November 4, 2025
Center for Economic and Policy Research
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_ Economic justice for people with disabilities cannot exist if
disabled people are denied access to basic necessities. Lawmakers who
care about the well-being of disabled people should make inclusive
food assistance a core policy goal. _

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The ongoing shutdown of the US federal government threatens the
distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
benefits this November. States, localities, and anti-hunger
organizations are scrambling to fill the gap in federal assistance
amid a massive wave of food insecurity. While two federal judges have
ruled that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) must use
contingency funds
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to keep SNAP flowing, the Trump administration announced on November
3rd that it will only cover a fraction of the usual benefits
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As of November 4, President Trump stated that SNAP benefits would be
suspended entirely until the shutdown ends
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leaving the program’s immediate future uncertain. Meanwhile,
conservatives have seized upon this uncertainty to deride SNAP
recipients
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and to characterize the program as a waste of resources
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These claims are both morally hollow and factually off-base.

One thing these conservatives scarcely mention is that a
disproportionate share of SNAP recipients have at least one type of
disability (FIGURE 1). Adults with disabilities make up about 25
percent of SNAP recipients, nearly twice their share in the overall
population (around 13 percent). About one in four SNAP recipients
reports a disability, compared with about one in nine non-recipients.
The imbalance reflects deep and persistent economic barriers that make
it harder for people with disabilities to meet basic needs without
support. 

FIGURE 1

 

Disabled adults participate in SNAP at more than double the rate of
those without disabilities (FIGURE 2). While only 8.3 percent of those
without disabilities lived in households that relied on SNAP
assistance, 20.4 percent of those with disabilities did. People with
disabilities may also be more likely to rely on food delivery
services, which is one reason why SNAP coverage of such services is so
important.

FIGURE 2

 

Of course, the way disability is measured has a major impact on the
statistics. In the Current Population Survey Annual Social and
Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), disability status is determined via a
short series of yes-or-no questions about six types of “serious”
functional difficulty: vision, hearing, cognition, mobility,
self-care, and independent living. Respondents who report at least one
type of difficulty are classified as having a disability. This
approach captures more people than administrative records but still
undercounts disabled adults, tending to exclude those with chronic
illnesses (such as Long COVID or autoimmune diseases that can flare)
or episodic impairments that do not fit neatly into these categories.
It is also worth noting that disability prevalence in the CPS ASEC is
lower
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relative to other national surveys that use the same question set. 

Nevertheless, surveys that rely on a broad set of functional questions
consistently find that more than twice as many SNAP recipients have a
disability compared with estimates using narrower administrative
definitions
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The stricter administrative measures tend to count only those
receiving disability benefits, leaving out millions of people whose
conditions limit their daily activities but who are not formally
recognized by Social Security or similar programs. The administrative
undercount obscures the true extent of disability among households
receiving food assistance. It also reinforces norms that harm disabled
people, as many of the qualifying benefits programs treat disability
and labor force participation as mutually exclusive. The US’
approach stands in sharp contrast to those of other countries, which
prioritize labor force inclusion for people with disabilities
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In the US, many who do not qualify as “officially” disabled under
stringent program rules still face significant economic barriers,
including but not limited to maintaining steady employment. This
highlights the flaws in conservative efforts to impose or expand work
requirements, including those in this year’s One Big Beautiful Bill
Act
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which are scheduled to take effect this week
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despite the ongoing shutdown. When policymakers tie access to food
assistance to strict work hour thresholds, they risk cutting off
people with disabilities who cannot meet those standards but still
need to eat. Evidence from states that have imposed such requirements
shows that they tend to balloon program costs via administrative bloat
without meaningfully increasing employment
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The result is greater hardship rather than increased labor force
participation. 

Even among employed adults, those with disabilities are nearly twice
as likely to live in households that receive SNAP benefits as those
without disabilities (FIGURE 3). Almost 12 percent of employed adults
with at least one functional difficulty receive SNAP benefits,
compared with about 6 percent of employed adults without a disability.
This gap highlights the persistent income disadvantage faced by
disabled workers, even when they are employed. 

FIGURE 3

 

Disabled people are more likely to experience other forms of economic
disadvantage
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including unemployment, underemployment, higher medical expenses, and
barriers to education and transportation. These barriers can make it
difficult for many disabled workers to achieve food security without
assistance. The overlapping and compounding challenges disabled people
face make federal programs like SNAP essential for food security and
economic stability. 

Economic justice for people with disabilities cannot exist if disabled
people are denied access to basic necessities. Lawmakers who care
about the well-being of disabled people should make inclusive food
assistance a core policy goal.

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* Disability; Economic Inequality; Cutoff of SNAP benefits;
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