The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps low-income families to be able to afford nutritious groceries

Under the new rules, those affected by the change must work or participate in a work program for at least 80 hours per month. Beneficiaries who do not meet the requirement will be limited to receiving only three months of SNAP benefits within a three-year period.

As the Summer Bucks initiative under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) concludes, vulnerable families across the United States face the end of additional summer benefits. This federal food assistance program has been crucial in supporting children during school breaks.

The warning from the New Jersey Department of Health comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced earlier this week that SNAP is expected to run out of money in about two weeks, leaving around 42 million Americans at risk of losing their benefits.

City officials told Politico that the new work requirements are expected to affect roughly 240,000 of the 1.8 million New York City residents who receive SNAP benefits, representing roughly 13% of all recipients across the five boroughs.

If states can secure more money by saying SNAP funds can't be used to purchase candy or sugary soda, that seems like a prudent choice going forward, especially considering national obesity rates.