USDA proposal could undo Alaska's SNAP eligibility expansion

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday proposed tightening who can get food stamps, a change that could undo an expansion Alaska lawmakers passed in 2024.

The proposed rule, signed by Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden, was posted for public inspection Monday morning ahead of its formal publication in the Federal Register on Tuesday. The public will then have 30 days to comment, and USDA would have to issue a final rule before anything changes.

Under Alaska's current rules, a family of four can earn up to $6,876 a month and qualify for SNAP, and savings and other assets don't count against them, according to the state's limits. The proposal would generally bring back the federal limits: $4,469 a month for a family of four, and $3,000 in savings and other countable assets, or $4,750 if someone in the household is 60 or older or disabled.

The state says most Alaska SNAP households qualify under the looser rules. Households that pass the regular federal tests would still qualify. Others could lose SNAP unless they qualify another way.

Supporters said some Alaskans were turning down better-paying jobs to keep their food aid. The bill became law without Gov. Mike Dunleavy's signature in 2024, and the state began using the looser rules in July 2025.

USDA calls the policy a "loophole" that makes people eligible under rules that "far exceed Federal SNAP limits." It estimates 6.3 million people nationwide would lose SNAP once the change takes full effect in 2029, and federal SNAP spending would drop by about $44.6 billion over five years. It doesn't estimate how many Alaskans would be affected.

Alaska's SNAP program served an average of 31,403 households a month in the state's 2025 fiscal year, and the average household received $627 a month.

Children in families that lose SNAP would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals, though USDA estimates nearly all would still qualify for free or reduced-price meals by applying.