North Carolina still has time to avoid Arizona’s food stamps crisis
Since Congress enacted H.R. 1 last summer, nearly 440,000 Arizonans have lost SNAP assistance — roughly half of all participants. Over 180,000 are children. The decline far exceeds estimates of those directly affected by new eligibility restrictions, suggesting many eligible people are being caught in a system struggling with complicated rules and pressure to reduce errors and future costs. Arizona has issued $600 million less in SNAP benefits since July 2025, even as food bank traffic surges.
North Carolina should take notice. Arizona shows what can happen when sweeping federal changes collide with an underfunded, overburdened system.
Nearly 1.3 million North Carolinians rely on SNAP. Beginning Oct. 1, the federal government will cut its share of SNAP administrative costs from 50% to 25%. State budget writers in North Carolina decided to push those costs onto local governments after local budget deadlines passed.
Counties are expected to face $52 million in new administrative costs in the first year and going forward to operate SNAP. That does not include the staffing, technology and training required by expanded work-reporting and verification rules. Counties cannot absorb these costs without consequences. They may have to reduce services, cut staff or raise taxes and fees. Smaller and rural counties, often with fewer resources and more residents relying on SNAP, face especially difficult choices. Without state funding, counties will struggle to answer calls, process applications and resolve paperwork problems. Families may wait longer or lose benefits because a document was not processed in time. That is how a fiscal cost shift becomes a hunger crisis.
