The U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a major change to food assistance on Tuesday — and by the agency’s own math, about 6.3 million people could lose their benefits.

The proposed rule, published November 10, 2026 in the Federal Register as “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Reforming Categorical Eligibility,” would end a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility, or BBCE. That policy lets states automatically qualify households for SNAP — food stamps — if they receive certain non-cash services funded through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Under the proposal, only households receiving TANF cash assistance would keep that automatic eligibility.

Here’s what the USDA itself projects if the rule takes full effect in fiscal year 2029:

• About 3.2 million households — 6.3 million people, nearly 18% of all SNAP recipients — would lose benefits.
• About 1.78 million children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals.
• Roughly 42,000 children could lose Summer EBT benefits, and about 5,500 women, infants and children could lose WIC eligibility.
• Federal SNAP spending would fall by about $44.65 billion from fiscal 2027 through 2031.

The change would land on top of cuts already in motion: more than 5.5 million people have lost SNAP benefits since cuts in the July 2025 tax law took effect, bringing enrollment to about 36 million people, according to USDA data. As of December 2025, 46 states and territories used BBCE — including Ohio — so the change would reach deep into Northwest Ohio, where families already stretched by grocery prices rely on the program.

The USDA says the change is meant to “preserve benefits for the truly needy” and to restore the program’s federal income and asset limits. Critics disagree. Save the Children said it is “deeply concerned” about the proposal, warning it would affect millions of children and that the USDA’s estimates may not capture the full effects of added paperwork and administrative barriers on eligible families.

Important: this is a proposal, not a final rule. Nothing changes for families yet. The public can comment for 30 days, through December 10, 2026, at Regulations.gov under docket FNA-2026-0661.

For Toledo families who use SNAP, the message right now is simple: your benefits are not changing today — but this proposal is the one to watch.

Sources: Reuters | Save the Children | The Hill

Image: Wikimedia Commons