By late 2027 Montana may have to shoulder more of the costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. If that happens, Montana’s only statewide food bank says the results would be devastating.
Montana Food Bank Network spokesperson Lydia Burns says more than 75,000 Montana families could lose their food assistance by October 1st of next year.
“Food banks are not designed to meet the entire need just on their own. For every one meal provided by a food bank, nine meals are provided by SNAP. Losing any part of this program is a drastic loss," Burns says.
Anti-hunger advocates, like the MFBN, caution it will cost the state more than $16 million to maintain SNAP benefits late next year. That’s because Montana has a higher-than-average SNAP payment error rate, which measures both overpayments and underpayments of food stamp benefits.
The Trump Administration says high rates are signs of waste and abuse. The Food Bank Network disagrees, saying they instead reflect circumstances including unintentional mistakes and staff shortages.
According to the USDA, SNAP enrollment in Montana has declined 11 percent since last year.
MFBN wants Congress to delay any cost-shifting plans, saying Montana’s state budget cannot absorb that financial impact. It adds that thousands of Montanans would face the possibility of not putting food on the table.
