SNAP Setback for Arizonans
By Terri Shoemaker, Executive Vice President, Arizona Food Bank Network, February 28, 2026
Friends and Advocates,
A change was made to SNAP in Arizona, and we want you to know about it.
For the first time ever, the state changed the overall income guidelines (called categorical eligibility, something established in 1996).
The maximum amount a family of 4 can earn and still be eligible for help has changed from the 2026 calculation of $59,400 a year (185% of the federal poverty level) to $44,550 a year (130% of the federal poverty level). This is the strictest guideline allowable by the USDA.
This number is used in just 8 other states. 28 states max out this guideline at 200%. Alaska and Hawaii are different. Everyone else is between 150-185%, where Arizona used to be. To make $59,400 in Arizona, it takes two full-time minimum wage jobs.
When I think about the implications it just strikes me as unfair. Work requirements for SNAP are strict and, because of the bill passed at the federal level last summer, got tightened even more.
This means that in the family of four in my example, both adults would have to work LESS (but not too much less, because the requirement is for adults to work is 30 hours a week) in order to meet the threshold.
I’m not super strong in math, but this doesn’t add up even for me.
$15.15 is the minimum wage in Arizona. If you *have to* work 30 hours a week, that’s $23,634 each year. If both adults in that family of 4 are working these hours as they are mandated to, they earn $47,268.
That is still too much to qualify for SNAP now in Arizona.
The latest calculation of a living wage in Arizona is $24.47/hour for a single adult with no children, and $28.47/hr for each adult in our family of four.
This is a rough estimate based on gross earnings and not taking other factors into consideration, but here’s the real meaning: thousands of Arizonans lost SNAP benefits as of Sunday, March 1, 2026.
Losing SNAP doesn’t make you food secure, it means you have to rely on family, friends, and food banks for help.
At a time when food banks in the state are already seeing record numbers of people, even more will need these charities.
Like many federal programs, SNAP rules and regs are complicated. This change was made because of the new rules from HR 1. Our state, like many others, is trying to ensure that SNAP is something that Arizona can afford in the long run (if you want to read about error rates, who pays for what, and SNAP impact, this is a good start). But this can’t come at the cost of people – largely the working poor – getting thrown into more uncertainty about how to make ends meet right now.
As I like to say often these days, food banks will find a way to help as many people as possible. If you need help, visit this website to locate an agency near you.
If you can help, please donate to food banks or AzFBN, help your neighbors, look up the nearest food pantry for a friend, and call your legislators to tell them how important a strong SNAP program is.
For our part, the AzFBN team is reaching out to anyone who will take our calls about the impacts of this decision. We’re making sure our member food banks know about the change, and readying our team to respond.
And because if you read my emails you know I need to double down on that hope, I turn to this particular song: https://youtu.be/gG47gS8xqRM
What's so funny, indeed.