Boston Indicators data analysis estimates at least 40,000 SNAP recipients in Greater Boston at risk from proposed cuts
Gateway Cities could face greatest issues as new rules expected to remove eligibility for many foreign-born residents, add work requirement for parents
September 2, 2025
Boston—A new data analysis from Boston Indicators estimates that at least 40,000 adult SNAP recipients in Greater Boston are at risk of losing some or all of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits if rules laid out in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are implemented as expected by the Trump Administration.
The cuts would likely be felt most sharply in Greater Boston’s gateway cities, which rank highly in both the percentage of their population receiving benefits and in their percentage of foreign-born residents.
“This analysis aligns with a number of other studies of how this inhumane plan will affect thousands of people across the region,” said Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “It also underscores the critical importance we see of investing to support local food systems in cities and towns across the state to better prepare for what will likely be a sharp increase in need from families in the coming months.”
The Boston Indicators analysis comes as the Foundation continues to roll out its Meeting the Moment: Sustaining Families initiative to support nonprofit food partners across the region.
SNAP map shows clusters of need
The analysis begins with a geographic examination of SNAP beneficiaries regionwide and finds that small cities like Lawrence, Brockton, Lynn, and Lowell have some of the greatest risk from impending cuts, with more than a quarter of their residents receiving SNAP.
The impact of the impending cuts on these populations remains somewhat unclear, as the specific guidance for implementing new work requirements and immigration status checks have not yet been issued. But language in the Act makes clear the planned revocation of benefits for thousands of legal immigrants in the U.S. with humanitarian status, such as refugees and asylees. If this guidance was in place in July, state data suggests that 9,600 legal immigrant recipients would have lost SNAP benefits.
The revised rules will put SNAP eligibility at risk for tens of thousands more adult recipients. One provision expands the population of “Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents” required to work or participate in training 20 hours per week to include adults up to age 65. (It currently applies to those aged 18 to 55.) Indicators estimates 31,000 adult recipients would be subject to work requirements under this change, with the largest increase falling on white recipients, who make up the majority (16,000) of those subject to the provisions. When including adults in households with dependents exposed to work requirements, that figure grows to 18,000.
A second rule change would reduce the parenting exemption from work rules to only apply to parents with children under the age of 14. (It currently applies to those with children up to age 18.) An estimated 11,000 adult recipients would be subject to the new work requirements as a result of this change.
“Coupled with rules intended to shift some of the cost burden for the SNAP program to states, these changes represent a fundamental shift in government support for residents in need. Instead of working to ensure families are fed and have access to the food they need, the Act turns SNAP into a paper chase for families and states,” said Peter Ciurczak of Boston Indicators, who authored the analysis. “While we won’t know the precise impacts until the specifics are put forth, these new requirements will put thousands of residents one paperwork error or missed shift away from losing some or all of their basic food assistance.”