18 House Democrats demand USDA data on seniors losing food aid, set Nov. 6 deadline

Eighteen House Democrats wrote to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Tuesday, October 27. They want to know how her department's food aid cuts are hurting older Americans ¹³. Rep. Analilia Mejia of New Jersey led the letter. It asks for a written answer by November 6, 2026, three days after the midterm election ¹².

The letter covers two programs. The first is SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, once called food stamps. The second is the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or CSFP, which sends a monthly box of groceries to low-income adults aged 60 and older ².

Older Americans who spent their lives working and contributing to their communities should not have to sacrifice their health, housing, or other basic needs just to put food on the table.

What the 2025 law changed for people in their late 50s and early 60s

The fight goes back to the tax and spending law that Republicans passed and President Trump signed in July 2025. The law is known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" ³⁴. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Congress's nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, estimates the law will cut federal SNAP spending by about $187 billion through 2034 ²³.

Before the law, SNAP's work rule for adults without dependent children mostly stopped at age 54. It now runs through age 64 ⁵. People in that group must work, volunteer or take part in job training for at least 80 hours a month. Without an exemption, they can get SNAP for only three months in three years ²⁵.

The law also limits waivers. States can now waive the rule only in areas where unemployment is above 10 percent ⁵. The CBO estimates the changes will cut SNAP enrollment by about 2.4 million people a month, on average, from 2025 through 2034 ⁵.

The letter cites research finding that more than half of low-income adults aged 55 to 64 who are subject to the rules reported a health-related barrier to working ².

Many seniors rely heavily on fixed or limited incomes from Social Security, retirement savings, and pensions.

The numbers so far

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research group, estimates that about 5.5 million people, including roughly 2 million children, have lost SNAP since the law was signed ³. The letter notes that USDA itself reports food prices rose 3 percent over the past year ³. More than 47 million Americans live in households that do not always have enough to eat ³.

In Mejia's home state, New Jersey's human services department reports that SNAP enrollment fell by about 71,300 people. It dropped from 810,900 in June 2025 to 739,600 in June 2026 ².

The lawmakers want state-by-state numbers on adults aged 55 to 64 who lost SNAP, saw their benefits cut, or got an exemption from the work rule ¹². The signers include Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Paul Tonko of New York, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida ¹.

The senior food box is on the chopping block again

The administration's budget for fiscal year 2027 would eliminate CSFP. The program serves nearly 700,000 low-income adults aged 60 and older, including about 4,865 New Jersey seniors each month ². The administration says it wants to help seniors through SNAP instead. The lawmakers question that plan, since the same administration made SNAP harder for older adults to get ².

This is the second year in a row the White House has gone after the program. In May 2025, President Trump's proposed budget for the next year included replacing CSFP with "MAHA food boxes," named for the Make America Healthy Again campaign, filled with food from American farmers, CBS News reported ⁶. Congress has kept CSFP funded despite earlier proposals to end it ².

At the time, George Matysik, executive director of a Philadelphia nonprofit that delivers 32-pound boxes to seniors, warned that "Our seniors in particular are already hurting," CBS News reported ⁶.

The letter also asks USDA to explain the expected health and financial effects of ending CSFP. And it asks how the department plans to make sure seniors can still get healthy food ². The Jersey Vindicator's report on the letter did not include a response from USDA ².

The administration's own words

Rollins has framed SNAP as a work program from the start. On April 18, 2025, she issued a memo telling states to enforce work rules for able-bodied adults without dependents. She called it the start of "a new era for SNAP" ⁷. That memo came before the 2025 law pushed the work rule up to age 64 ⁵⁷.

Many states have abused the system by requesting work requirement waivers.

At a House hearing in April 2026, Rollins defended her department's 2027 budget. It would cut $4.9 billion, nearly one-fifth of USDA's budget ⁴. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said the plan would eliminate more than 70 USDA programs ⁴. Rollins said the cuts Democrats pointed to made up only about 4 percent of the department's total budget ⁴.

And the administration’s only plan is to decimate the public programs that help alleviate the strain

Why it matters a week before the vote

That matters because the people hit hardest are often too young for Medicare but too old to get hired easily. Many are living on savings while they wait to claim Social Security. Republicans in Congress passed the law that put these Americans under the work rule ⁴⁵. Voters will decide on November 3 who controls the House and Senate that will write the next farm and food budget.

The pattern is consistent. The administration has proposed ending the senior food box program two years in a row, and Congress has kept funding it ²⁶. Whether that continues will depend on who holds the purse strings in January.

The Record

1. Apr 18, 2025Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins tells states to enforce SNAP work rules, calling it the start of "a new era for SNAP" ⁷
2. May 7, 2025The White House budget proposes replacing the CSFP senior food box program with "MAHA food boxes" ⁶
3. Feb 6, 2026News reports say SNAP work rules extended to adults up to age 64 by the 2025 Republican law are taking effect ⁵
4. Apr 16, 2026At a House hearing, Democrats criticize USDA's proposed 2027 budget, which cuts $4.9 billion and would eliminate more than 70 programs ⁴
5. Oct 27, 2026Rep. Analilia Mejia and 17 Democrats ask USDA for data on seniors losing food aid, with a reply due by Nov. 6 ¹²

Sources

1. Office of Rep. Analilia Mejia, “Rep. Mejia Leads 17 Colleagues in Letter to USDA Demanding Answers on Cuts to Nutrition Programs for Seniors” (2026-10-27). mejia.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mejia-leads-17-coll
2. Jersey Vindicator, “Lawmakers press USDA for details on how food assistance cuts are affecting older adults” (2026-10-27). jerseyvindicator.org/2026/10/27/lawmakers-press-usda-for-det
3. Common Dreams, “House Dems Press Trump USDA Over Aid Cuts as Seniors 'Struggle to Put Food on the Table'” (2026-10-27). commondreams.org/news/how-obbba-harms-seniors
4. KOTA / States Newsroom, “House panel spars over Trump USDA cuts; Rollins says no FSA office closures” (2026-04-19). kotatv.com/2026/04/19/us-house-dems-ag-hearing-excoriate-tru
5. Idaho News / Fact Check Team, “Fact Check Team: SNAP work requirements going into effect, here's what to know” (2026-02-06). idahonews.com/news/nation-world/fact-check-team-snap-work-re
6. CBS News, “Trump wants to replace grocery aid for seniors with "MAHA food boxes"” (2025-05-07). cbsnews.com/news/trump-maha-food-box-replace-csfp-low-income
7. Oklahoma Farm Report, “USDA Reiterates Importance of Those Who Can Work, Should Work While Receiving SNAP” (2025-04-18). oklahomafarmreport.com/?p=141013

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