Connecticut announces $300 grocery cards for about 25,000 people cut from SNAP under HR1

Connecticut officials announced a one-time $300 grocery benefit on the state’s emergency response fund to help people losing SNAP after changes tied to HR1.

Andrea Barton Reeves, commissioner of the Department of Social Services, told a press conference hosted by the Community Renewal Team that the benefit is meant as a bridge for people who no longer qualify for SNAP because federal work and eligibility rules have tightened. "We're announcing a $300 grocery benefit to individuals losing SNAP benefits due to the expansion of work requirements to the SNAP population in Connecticut," Barton Reeves said, adding that cards will be distributed through community action agencies and that recipients should begin to receive the benefit by August.

Lena Rodriguez, president and CEO of the Community Renewal Team, framed the measure as an emergency response to sharply rising need. "On behalf of the community action agencies, I want to assure the people of Connecticut, we are here for you," Rodriguez said, noting CRT served 20,353 families last year, 7,880 of whom received SNAP.

State lawmakers and nonprofit partners described the scale of the problem and the limits of the federal changes. "When President Trump took office there were 378,000 people on SNAP in Connecticut. Today that number has dwindled to 308,000," Senator Matt Leser said, characterizing the drop as an 18.5% decrease in enrollment and tying it to the new federal rules. Leser and others urged further action to restore benefits for people who are eligible and to consider longer-term state solutions if necessary.

Jason Jacabowski of Connecticut Food Share said the charity is seeing fewer federal shipments and greater demand from pantries. "Seventy-five percent of the food that we're distributing across the state of Connecticut is coming from grocery stores and wholesalers here in the state of Connecticut," Jacabowski said, noting federal TFAP shipments dropped from 86 trailer loads early last year to 24 this year.

Officials described how the $300 benefit will work and who it will reach. Barton Reeves said the payment targets people who cannot fit into remaining exemption categories — primarily adults without dependents known as able-bodied adults without dependents — and estimated that group at about 25,000 people statewide. The $300 is a one-time per-person grocery-card benefit that will not be loaded onto existing EBT cards; instead the state is exploring a grocery-card platform or app community action agencies can use to restrict spending to eligible food categories.

Barton Reeves emphasized that "able-bodied" does not always mean a person can readily work: regional job shortages, transportation barriers, post-traumatic stress, disability or domestic-violence survivorship can block employment. To help clients navigate the new rules, the state plans to hire staff: Barton Reeves said the department is actively recruiting 50 positions and that the governor has released $4 million to community action agency partners to hire navigators and community health workers.

Officials said the funding for the benefit comes from the state's federal cuts response fund and other state resources. In questions about longer-term solutions, Governor Ned Lamont said the immediate priority is reconnecting eligible people to federally funded SNAP and that he would examine more permanent state steps over the coming year while acknowledging the complexity and cost of compliance with the new federal requirements.

The administration said it expects to begin distribution in August and that community action agencies and grocery partners have agreed to cooperate on implementation. Officials said they do not expect federal sanctions for the state's actions. The press conference closed after a few additional questions from reporters.