READING — Thousands of people in Berks County are expected to lose their food benefits by the end of this year as more Trump-backed changes to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program go into effect.
Beginning Nov. 1, the federal government will require SNAP recipients to comply with work requirements if they don’t have a child younger than 14, are considered “able-bodied,” and don’t qualify for an exemption. Pennsylvania previously qualified for a waiver that exempted all recipients in most counties, including Berks, and some municipalities, due to high unemployment.
In addition, refugees, people granted asylum, and people who meet other immigration statuses will no longer be eligible for SNAP as of that date.
About 14% of Berk County’s population — 61,338 people — depend on SNAP benefits. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services projects that about 3,290 will lose them.
Hoa Pham, deputy secretary for the Office of Income Maintenance at DHS, described the new requirements as “unfunded mandates” that states will have to implement without additional staff and resources.
“This time that we are in is rather unusual, that we’re not getting a ton of help from the federal government on both additional resources or even clear information on the kind of things that they want us to do,” Pham said.
Pham said DHS staff is strategizing how it can deploy the resources it has to tackle the additional workload of screening for work requirements and SNAP-eligible immigration statuses. The department is working “around the clock” to fill vacant roles at county assistance offices and train caseworkers, she said. DHS also wants to simplify the process of applying for and maintaining benefits “to alleviate administrative burden” on existing staff.
Berks County’s assistance office currently has 187 total staff, 124 of whom are income maintenance caseworkers who work with benefit recipients.
Here’s what you need to know about the recent changes, and where you can get help in Berks County.
What are SNAP work requirements?
There are two categories of work requirements for SNAP: general requirements for those between 16 to 59, and tougher requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWD).
To comply with general requirements, SNAP recipients must be actively seeking a job or enrolled in an employment training program, and take a job if offered. Employed SNAP recipients must not voluntarily quit a job or reduce hours to less than 30 per week.
The ABAWD work requirement applies to adults without young dependents who “are considered physically and mentally able to work.” They must work, volunteer, or participate in job training for at least 20 hours per week or 80 hours per month. People who do not comply with these requirements are eligible for SNAP for only three months in a three-year period.
Both categories allow for exemptions.
How did Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ law change SNAP work requirements?
The SNAP program already had work requirements before the Republican-led Congress passed the Trump administration’s One Big Beautiful Bill in July. But the law makes several changes.
As of Nov. 1, the law raises the ABAWD age limit to 64 from 54. These requirements will also apply to people with children between 14 and 17, rather than children younger than 18, as it was previously.
In addition, veterans and current and former foster youth between 18 and 24 will no longer be automatically exempt.
The budget law also removed the blanket federal exemption for individuals experiencing homelessness. However, Pennsylvania has not finalized guidance on how it is going to handle that new rule.
Pham of DHS said the state is exploring what it can do to support unhoused SNAP recipients.
“Short of that federal exemption that no longer exists as of the passage of this bill, we are evaluating our options on what we can do as a state to confer an exemption for maybe some subset of those individuals who may be experiencing homelessness,” Pham said.
Who still qualifies for exemptions from work requirements?
People who meet one of the following are still exempt after Nov. 1:
17 or younger or older than 64
Pregnant
Have a dependent younger than 14
Able to provide medical documentation of a mental or physical disability
Participating in a drug or alcohol treatment program
Unemployed but expects to work again in the next 60 days
Survivor of domestic violence
Taking care of someone ill or incapacitated
Homeless, living in a shelter or halfway house, or staying with family or friends for no more than 90 days
DHS says some of these statuses may require verification. You can find a full list of the exemptions here.
How do the changes affect new versus existing SNAP recipients?
DHS will screen new applicants to determine whether they must meet work requirements, which go into effect Nov. 1.
For people who already receive SNAP, DHS will determine whether they must meet work requirements during their next renewal period (SNAP benefits renew every six months).
If they must, they will have three months to find a job or volunteer opportunity before their benefits run out.
“I want to make sure that people don’t feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, Nov. 1, the whole world changes.’ Yeah, it does, but it will be unique to your circumstance,” Pham said.
How do I prove I’m working or volunteering?
Case workers in DHS county assistance offices work with SNAP applicants and recipients to verify work requirements are being met.
SNAP recipients can upload pay stubs and volunteer work verification documents onto the COMPASS website. DHS verifies work hours every six months during the renewal period.
Those fulfilling work requirements through an employment and training program must fill out a weekly employment and training activity form.
DHS has a video explaining how to use COMPASS to upload SNAP work requirement documents.
How will some foreign nationals and immigrants be impacted by SNAP changes?
People with the following statuses are no longer eligible for SNAP under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act:
Refugees
People granted asylum
Survivors of human trafficking granted T nonimmigrant status
VAWA self-petitioners (people eligible for permanent status through an abusive spouse or family member, but who are self-petitioning under the Violence Against Women Act)
People protected by withholding of removal orders
People on humanitarian parole
Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa holders
Afghans paroled July 31, 2021-Sept. 30, 2023, and Ukrainians paroled Feb. 24, 2022- Sept. 30, 2024.
Green-card holders who have been in the country for fewer than five years (the time rule does not apply to some).
People under these statuses still qualify for SNAP, although they are also subject to work requirements:
Green-card holders who have lived in the country for more than five years (the time rule does not apply to some).
Cuban and Haitian entrants who were granted parole to enter the country, and have benefit eligibility through the federal Cuban-Haitian Entrant Program.
Citizens of countries that are part of the Compacts of Free Association (Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands).
Maripat Pileggi, supervising attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia, said she is concerned that understaffed county assistance offices will not have the capacity to adequately screen immigrant SNAP recipients and applicants, especially because immigration status is often difficult to understand.
“There are so many complexities and ways for people to misunderstand at the county assistance office,” Pileggi said. “One of the things I’m telling everybody is there will be mistakes made. File an appeal. If you get a termination notice in the mail, file an appeal. Appeals are by far the best and fastest way to fix mistakes.”
It’s also important for refugees getting SNAP, who now have permanent status, to make sure their county assistance office has a copy of their green card, Pileggi said.
“The county assistance office has never before today had any reason to ask a refugee if they have their green card. It just never made any difference before. Now it does,” Pileggi said. “I’m sure there are refugees who are getting SNAP now that the county assistance office doesn’t know they have their green cards.”
How can SNAP recipients connect with jobs, training, or volunteering opportunities in Berks County?
There are state-run job training and education programs that a county assistance office will refer people to. They include:
Work Ready, which is administered by the Berks Community Action Program and provides job readiness training.
Employment Advancement and Retention Network (EARN), which is administered by EDSI in Reading and teaches people skills for job searching and retaining a job.
KEYS (Keystone Education Yields Success), which helps people enroll at Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges, including Reading Area Community College.
SNAP JETS, which is administered through Tec Centro Berks and offers free skills training.
PA Careerlink in Berks County has online and in-person resources for job seekers, while Connections Work helps formerly incarcerated people reenter the workforce.
Who can help Berks County residents apply for or manage their SNAP benefits?
Melissa Beltrán Del Rio, a bilingual SNAP outreach coordinator at Helping Harvest, helps clients apply for SNAP benefits, understand the work requirements, and file for renewal.
State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) said her office often serves as a “quasi social service agency” and is available to help people who have questions about new SNAP changes.
State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D., Berks) represents the 129th legislative district, where 734 people are projected to lose SNAP benefits. She said her bilingual team is available to help and to provide information. They also appear at Centro Hispano every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Reading Area Community College provides SNAP assistance for students.
Centro Hispano often helps Spanish speakers apply for SNAP and other social safety net programs.
If I lose SNAP benefits, where can I get other food assistance in Berks County?
Helping Harvest’s food map shows nearby food pantries. Staff is also available to assist.
The food pantry at New Journey Community Outreach in Reading is available by appointment.
Friend, Inc. in Kutztown runs the Northeastern Berks Food Pantry.
The LGBTQ Center of Greater Reading’s food pantry is open every first and third Friday of the month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Hopewell Love in Birdsboro offers a drive-thru food pantry.
Beverly Mattson Memorial Food Bank operates a free, community food truck.
Twin Valley Food Pantry in Morgantown distributes food by appointment on the first Monday of each month.