Since August 2024, nearly 250,000 people in Massachusetts have lost their SNAP benefits. That is almost one in five households statewide, and more than $460 million a year in grocery money that no longer reaches families in our state.

These are some of the biggest changes in SNAP’s history, and more are on the way. Here is what is happening, what it means for our neighbors on the North Shore, and how The Salem Pantry is responding.

Why SNAP matters

SNAP puts money for groceries on a card each month, so families can choose their own food, at their own store, on their own schedule. A parent can buy the cereal their kid will actually eat. A neighbor managing diabetes can pick the foods their doctor recommends.

It is also the backbone of food access in our country. For every one meal The Salem Pantry can provide, SNAP provides nine. When SNAP falls short, pantries simply cannot make up the difference.

What’s happening here on the North Shore

In Salem, Lynn, and Peabody alone, 9,160 people have lost their benefits since August 2024. Together, that is more than $18.2 million a year in grocery support gone from these three cities. Lynn has been hit hardest.

Here is what matters most: many of these neighbors still qualify for SNAP. They are losing benefits because the system has become harder to navigate and help has become harder to reach.

Why are neighbors losing benefits?

Four big changes are hitting families at the same time.

• New federal rules. In summer 2025, Congress passed HR1, a federal budget law that changed who can get SNAP. Work requirements now apply to adults up to age 64 and parents of children 14 and older. Veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth lost their exemptions. Refugees and asylum seekers lost eligibility altogether.
• Benefits that no longer keep up. HR1 froze the review that used to update SNAP benefits based on real grocery prices. Now benefits get only a small yearly increase, so they cover less at the register each year.
• New costs for Massachusetts. Starting October 2026, the state must cover 75% of the cost of running SNAP. In October 2027, the state will also start paying for more of the benefits.
• Help that is hard to reach. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the state agency that runs SNAP, is short on caseworkers. 90% of calls go unanswered. A neighbor can do everything right and still never reach someone who can help them apply or renew.

Our plan to support the North Shore

We have already seen how fast things can change. In late October 2025, families learned their November benefits would be delayed. Within days, our phones rang nonstop, our inboxes filled, and more people visited our website than ever before.

Pantries alone cannot fill a gap this large. That is why The Salem Pantry has a clear plan built on five commitments:

1. Helping neighbors keep their benefits. Our SNAP outreach team helps neighbors understand the changes, gather the documents they need to apply or renew, and picks up the phone when calls to the DTA go unanswered.
2. Offering a path to meet work requirements. The Salem Pantry is a listed volunteer site for the state’s SNAP Path to Work program. Neighbors who need to meet the new work requirements can do so by volunteering with us.
3. Keeping food within reach. Through The Market, The Mobile Pantry, Home Delivery, and Medically Tailored Food Boxes, our programs stay easy to access when and where guests need them, especially when a family’s benefits change overnight.
4. Strengthening partners across the region. Through The Food Distribution Hub, operated in partnership with The Greater Boston Food Bank, we help partner agencies across the North Shore overcome barriers like transportation and storage. That way, they can support neighbors in their own communities as more people turn to them.
5. Making sure our neighbors are heard. We bring community voices to the Salem Food Policy Council, the MA Hunger Free Campus Coalition, the North Shore Food & Farm Coalition, and the Make Hunger History Coalition, where Executive Director Robyn Burns represents the Northeast Region of Massachusetts.

How you can help

This plan works because our community shows up. Here are three ways to be part of it right now:

• Give. Support More Than a Meal, our three-year campaign to build a more dignified, reliable food system for the North Shore.
• Volunteer. As demand grows, we need neighbors alongside us everywhere from The Market to The Food Distribution Hub warehouse.
• Speak up. Tell your legislators that access to SNAP and healthy food matters to you and your community.

We believe everyone deserves access to healthy food. If you or someone you know needs support, visit thesalempantry.org to find help near you.

Figures reflect DTA caseload data by city and town, August 2024 to July 2026.