Tuesday, OCTOBER 28, 2025 |
Photo – SNAP logo – Courtesy Wyoming Department of Health
SNAP recipients in Wyoming should plan now for a possible disruption in the federal supplemental food assistance program next week as the government shutdown continues with no end—nor funding–in sight.
Beginning in November, food benefits will not be issued to SNAP beneficiaries until federal funding is restored. The SNAP program is funded by taxpayers. The program could run out of money because of the ongoing government shutdown and ongoing impasse.
Work requirements for program recipients already expanded earlier this year, as a result, changes included in the “Big, Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4, 2025.
The program now requires “able-bodied adults without dependents” who benefit from the program to work or volunteer 80 hours per month. Parents with children over age 14 also must meet work requirements. Homeless individuals, veterans and former foster youth are also subject to work requirements.
Only U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and select refugees remain eligible to receive the benefits.
In Wyoming, 13,400 households, or 28,365 individuals are enrolled in the SNAP program, according to numbers published last month by the state department of family services. About 44% of the recipients are children up to the age of 17. Adults aged 18-59, who use the program, number a little more than 10,000, or about 36% of the recipients.
More than 2,150 adults categorized as “able bodied without dependents” also receive benefits in the Cowboy State. They represent 8% of the users.
The average household benefits is about $386 per month in Wyoming.
Beginning November 1, SNAP cards may not be refilled because of the political impasse in Washington.
Across the nation, the program serves about 42 million people each month. Like Wyoming, many states have announced plans to suspend SNAP benefits if the shutdown continues into November. This would be the first time the program has lapsed in recent history.
The program originally was intended to help low-income households buy healthy food to maintain good health.
