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By Dayna Reyes, Reporter
WESLACO, Texas — Federal legislative overhauls and tightening state administrative budgets are threatening to strip nutrition assistance from hundreds of thousands of low-income families across the Lone Star State, a top food policy advocate warned local leaders in the Rio Grande Valley.
Speaking at the “Hunger in the RGV: A Call to Action” forum hosted by the Office of Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez and Bread for the World, Jamie Olson, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy for Feeding Texas, outlined a looming fiscal and humanitarian crisis driven by recent changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Addressing a packed audience at South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus in Weslaco, Olson revealed that statewide SNAP participation has dropped by 19%—representing a decline of more than 650,000 participants—since federal legislation known as “H.R. 1” was signed into law last summer.
“This is not a mistake. This is the reality, and a very intentional result of this policy,” Olson said, noting that more than half of those losing coverage in Texas are children. “Children are going hungry in our state.”
Stricter Rules, Sharper Declines
The statutory changes rolled out under the federal package expanded strict work requirement mandates to keep benefits. Senior exemptions were raised from age 55 to 65, requiring an extra decade of documented 30-hour workweeks. Work requirements were also applied to parents of older teenagers, while historic exemptions for former foster youth, unhoused individuals, and veterans were eliminated.
At the same time, new eligibility restrictions cut access for refugees and asylees. Coupled with persistent administrative backlogs at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and heightened fears surrounding immigration enforcement, the policy shifts have accelerated drop-offs.
Olson emphasized that while charitable food networks do vital work, they cannot fill the gap left by federal cuts. Feeding Texas’s network of 20 food banks serves over 4 million Texans annually, but private food assistance operates at a fraction of federal scale.
“For every one meal that our food banks provide, SNAP provides nine,” Olson told the audience. “There is no amount of charitable assistance that can make up for drastic cuts to SNAP.”
A Uniquely Steep Cost-Share Shift
Beyond immediate eligibility losses, Olson alerted local officials to a multi-billion-dollar fiscal challenge heading toward the Texas Legislature when it convenes in Austin next year.
For over 60 years, SNAP food benefits have been 100 percent federally funded, while administrative expenses were split 50/50 between state and federal governments. Under the new federal mandate, states must cover 75 percent of administrative expenses starting Oct. 1—costing Texas an estimated $124 million annually for basic operations, IT systems, and intake staffing.
Furthermore, beginning October 2027, states with administrative “payment error rates” exceeding 6 percent will be forced to pay a direct percentage of the total benefit bill. Driven by post-pandemic staffing shortages and processing backlogs during Medicaid redeterminations, Texas’s error rate currently stands around 9 percent.
Olson clarified that payment error rates reflect internal agency calculation errors—such as minor math variations by agency staff—rather than fraud or client abuse. However, because of that rate, Texas faces a mandatory 10 percent benefit cost share starting in fiscal year 2028, translating to $770 million per year.
If the state’s error rate climbs further for fiscal year 2026, Texas could be forced into a 15 percent bracket, driving state obligation costs to $1.2 billion annually.
“The total expected general revenue cost for FY 28 and FY 29, including both the additional administrative costs and the additional benefit cost, is $1.7 to $2.2 billion that the Texas Legislature is going to be required to pay just to keep the SNAP program whole,” Olson explained. “We are in a state of uncertainty as to what happens if the legislature is unable or unwilling to pay that amount.”
Federal Advocacy and Next Steps
Feeding Texas and its coalition umbrella, the Texas Food Policy Roundtable, are actively lobbying Texas’s congressional delegation—including U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, along with U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz—to delay the implementation of the cost-share mandates.
Under current federal rules, states with the highest error rates were granted a two-year buffer before financial penalties begin, while states with lower error rates like Texas were given only months to adjust. Advocates are urging Congress to create an even playing field by delaying penalties across all states by two years, allowing HHSC time to stabilize its workforce and bring error rates back below the 6 percent threshold.
Olson urged local public officials, civic groups, and organizational leaders across the Rio Grande Valley to join statewide advocacy efforts and share community impacts to help protect essential safety-net programs.
Editor’s Note: Here is a video recording of Jamie Olson’s presentation at the “Hunger in the RGV: A Call to Action” forum:
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