Today, October 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Administration’s proposed rule on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) administrative cost sharing comes into effect. As a resident-driven council focused on the food system in Rochester and Monroe County, we are concerned about what this new rule could mean for our neighbors, our local government, and the community organizations working every day to address food insecurity.

The rule reduces the federal share of most SNAP administrative costs from 50 percent to 25 percent beginning in federal fiscal year 2027. This is not simply a change in accounting. It is a cost shift that could affect whether eligible Monroe County residents receive timely, accurate, and accessible service.

Monroe County’s Department of Human Services must process applications and recertifications, answer questions, verify eligibility, maintain technology, train staff, and help residents understand changing requirements. A sudden reduction in federal support could lead to longer waits, processing delays, less outreach, and difficult budget choices that affect other essential county services.

Describing this cost shift as a response to “waste, fraud, and abuse” also misrepresents how SNAP administration works. Payment error rates can result from paperwork, processing delays, or eligibility-calculation mistakes; they are not the same as fraud. Reducing the resources available to prevent and correct those errors is unlikely to strengthen program integrity.

In Rochester and throughout Monroe County, SNAP supports children, older adults, people with disabilities, working families whose wages do not keep pace with food costs, and neighbors facing unemployment or other disruptions. The consequences of reduced access would be especially serious in communities already affected by persistent poverty, limited transportation, and unequal access to full-service grocery stores.

SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program and a cornerstone of Monroe County’s food system. Monroe County distributes roughly $20 million in SNAP benefits each month. Those dollars help families put food on the table, support neighborhood grocery stores and farmers’ markets, and reduce pressure on food pantries and meal programs. When benefits are reduced, delayed, or made harder to access, the effects ripple across the entire community.

The Rochester Food Policy Council urges Congress to delay the administrative cost shift and SNAP benefit cost-sharing provisions for two years, giving counties time to plan and allowing sustainable funding solutions to be developed. We also urge New York State to protect counties from added costs if the federal changes proceed. Monroe County should not have to reduce essential services or increase the burden on local taxpayers to keep a federal nutrition program functioning.

What Rochester and Monroe County community members can do:

• Contact your members of Congress and ask them to support a two-year delay and maintain adequate federal funding for SNAP administration.
• Use the savemysnap.org website to help eligible neighbors connect with application and recertification assistance, especially when rules or deadlines change.
• Share clear, accurate information about these SNAP changes and savemysnap.org through neighborhood groups, faith communities, schools, libraries, and service organizations.

Protecting SNAP protects the health, dignity, and economic stability of our neighbors. The Rochester Food Policy Council calls on community members to speak up, stay informed, and help our neighbors stay fed.