Those work requirements in the One Big Beautiful Bill kicked in on February 1, and Good Morning Chicago has posted a piece on TikTok saying that 42 million people across the country who rely on SNAP benefits could be affected. There’s even a website where you can check to see if you’re exempt from the new requirements.
GREAT NEWS 🚨
Stricter work requirements went into effect today for anyone collecting SNAP benefits
People under asylum or refugee status are no longer eligible at all
Everyone has to work (80) hours a month, even the homeless
My vote counted bc this is what I voted for pic.twitter.com/kbOq5SghMt
— @Chicago1Ray 🇺🇸 (@Chicago1Ray) February 2, 2026
ABC News posted a piece over the weekend warning that millions of Americans could lose their benefits. Just as a reminder, the “S” in SNAP stands for supplemental. It seems a lot of people haven’t picked up on that.
New work requirements for SNAP are set to go into effect on Feb. 1, and it could mean that millions of Americans lose their benefits. https://t.co/YxFq9eu9tj
— ABC News (@ABC) January 31, 2026
Mary Kekatos reports for ABC News:
“Millions of people will unnecessarily be kicked off the rolls,” Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit Hunger Free America, told ABC News. “They will lose the food they need, and sometimes family members need. … More Americans will go hungry. Soup kitchens and food pantries and the food banks that supply them will not have the resources to meet this need.”
…
Berg said it could be very difficult for these populations to not only get jobs but provide the documentation to prove to the government they are meeting work requirements.
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But they must be able to provide some information to the federal government to apply for the benefits in the first place. These populations can’t get a photo ID, even when it’s free, and they can’t provide documentation that they’re working or volunteering.
GREAT NEWS!
— Photo of John Wayne (@ThatOldCoyote) February 1, 2026
Working 80 hours a month really isn’t much to ask.
— Lenore Taylor (@BolzMary) January 31, 2026
Good. It should be a monthly delivery box not a shopping cart.
— LizzyB (@Elizabe03239002) January 31, 2026
They can volunteer if they can’t find work.
— coyote (@m1ndhunter_x) January 31, 2026
Or they could just fulfill the work requirements like the rest of us who don’t eat if we don’t work.
— Professor Pissybich (@pissybich) February 1, 2026
If I have to work for their food, there should at least be a good faith effort on their end as well.
Otherwise you end up with Animal Farm…which is why that story is never read in schools anymore.
— The Shmoog (@thebigshmoog) January 31, 2026
Maybe the media could run with the perspective that able-bodied adults getting jobs isn’t punishment. It’s a job.
This should have always been the case. SNAP is supposed to be a temporary benefit, NOT a forever entitlement.
— BlueBloodBulldog (@AlapahaBulldog1) February 1, 2026
It could also mean millions of Americans will experience the freedom that comes from breaking away from government dependency.
— Micah Sheffield (@sheffield21930) January 31, 2026
That’s another way of looking at it. ABC News couldn’t find anyone with that viewpoint to interview, though.
Yes.
If you are of sound mind and body, you should absolutely be working if you expect your fellow citizens to help you get back on your feet.
— 🐺 (@LeighWolf) January 31, 2026
As an exercise for the author, rewrite this headline in the most favorable light possible instead of the most negative.
— Sole Voice Of Reason (@SonOfAristotle) January 31, 2026
Exactly. Give it a try.
There are plenty of exemptions. They’re not taking SNAP benefits away from your disabled grandmother.
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