Category: Government Programs
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Food stamp shoppers in Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia can still buy soda with SNAP, and candy in Iowa and Tennessee, after a June court ruling set aside their bans, USDA shows
Four states that planned to stop SNAP shoppers from buying soda and other sweets are not enforcing those bans, because a federal judge threw out the approvals behind them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s table of food restriction waivers shows Colorado, Iowa, Tennessee and West Virginia as court-blocked, and the page was last updated October…
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Veterans’ disability claim form should shrink from 15 pages to 5 by December 2026
The Department of Veterans Affairs wants to cut the main application for disability benefits from 15 pages to 5. The shorter version of VA Form 21-526EZ is projected to be available for use by December 2026, VA says, but it is a proposal for now, and the 15-page form is the one on file today.…
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Veterans’ December 1 disability raise has sat since a June 30 subcommittee vote
A bill that would raise veterans’ disability compensation on December 1, 2026 has not moved since a House subcommittee sent it to the full committee on June 30. H.R. 8552, the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2026, is not law, and the December payment increase it describes depends on Congress finishing the job. Bill…
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Food stamp cards in New York, about two million of them, will be replaced with chip cards starting in early 2027 to guard against skimming, the governor’s office says
About two million New York food stamp cards will be replaced with chip cards beginning in the first quarter of 2027, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office says. The goal is to stop skimming, the theft method in which devices capture a card’s information and PIN so thieves can drain benefits before the recipient spends them. The…
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Pennsylvania Medicaid enrollees ages 19 to 64 may get automated calls from 877-839-4782 about work rules that start with January 2027 applications, the state says
Pennsylvania Medicaid recipients between 19 and 64 may be getting automated phone calls from 877-839-4782, and the state has named that number as its own. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is using calls, text messages and letters to warn about a federal work requirement that starts for Medicaid applications received in January 2027.…
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Food stamp households with someone 60 or older or disabled are judged only on net income, up to $1,330 a month for one person through September 2027
A food stamp household with someone 60 or older, or someone with a disability, only has to pass the net income test, and for one person that limit is $1,330 a month. USDA says the figure applies from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027, the federal fiscal year 2027. Most households face two income…
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New Jersey food stamp households outside Cumberland, Essex and Mercer counties must activate their new chip EBT cards by November 20, when unused cards shut off
New Jersey food stamp households outside Cumberland, Essex and Mercer counties have until Friday, November 20, 2026 to activate their new chip EBT cards. After that date, the state’s Division of Family Development says, chip cards that were never activated will be deactivated in the remaining counties. The old magnetic-stripe cards have already stopped working…
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SNAP recipients 18 to 64 with no child under 14 lose food stamps after three months in three years unless they work 80 hours monthly, with no veteran exception
Adults on SNAP who are 18 to 64 and have no child under 14 at home can receive food stamps for only three months in three years unless they work 80 hours a month, and veterans are no longer excused. The change came from the 2025 federal budget law, known as the One Big Beautiful…
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Food stamp shoppers in Ohio cannot buy sugar-sweetened drinks or any fountain drinks starting April 1, 2027
Ohio food stamp shoppers will not be able to use their benefits on sugar-sweetened drinks or on any fountain drinks beginning April 1, 2027, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s list of state restriction waivers. The list was updated October 13, 2026. That is six months later than the date Ohio first had in…
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Food stamp rolls in Virginia have dropped by more than 150,000 people since June 2025, the governor says, as soda comes off the SNAP list November 1
Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office says SNAP participation in Virginia has fallen by more than 150,000 people since June 2025. The figure came on October 20, when the governor launched a coalition of 32 organizations to help residents keep food and health benefits under the federal law passed last year. The next change for Virginia shoppers…