Since the One Big Beautiful Bill changed requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assitance Program (SNAP) participation, the total number of households receiving benefits in Nebraska dropped 15% from June 2025 to June 2026. Immigrant and refugee communities have been hit the hardest, and nonprofits say they’re struggling to keep up with food access needs.
According to demographic data from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, about 4,600 immigrants and refugees lost SNAP in Nebraska between January 2025 and April 2026.
That’s a 38% drop in use by immigrant and refugee populations. In contrast, participation by U.S. citizens dropped only 18% in the same time period.
'I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to do this'
Supporters of the federal restrictions and cuts said they would prevent waste, fraud and abuse in the program and prevent undocumented immigrants from accessing benefits. Opponents said new eligibility rules would cause confusion and add administrative burdens to states, causing people to unnecessarily lose benefits.
“Traditionally, we have just been focused on housing. We teach families how to acclimate to life here in America,” said Hannah Vlach, executive director at Restoring Dignity, an Omaha-based nonprofit that works with immigrant and refugee families. “It wasn't until last year when all of these changes started happening by the Trump administration that we realized that food security is housing security.”
The changes went into effect on Oct. 1. When benefits were cut off, Vlach said families were making hard choices on which bills to pay, picking up other jobs or going hungry.
“I had gone over to a family’s house … There were 15 people living in one house,” she said. “They showed me their empty fridge. They showed me their empty cabinets. They had like a 2-year-old little kid who was walking around, and they were drinking diluted milk in their bottle because they had run out of everything, and they were trying to stretch everything that they had.”
Before the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Vlach said there was no way for undocumented immigrants to access SNAP benefits.
“What [Congress] did in the OBBBA actually did nothing to prevent people who are undocumented from getting on SNAP,” she said. “What it did was make life a lot harder for people who are here legally.”
And, Vlach said, nonprofits now have to work harder to cover the needs left unfilled. Coordinating transportation to food banks, finding money for families to shop with and finding enough staff to address their needs has become more difficult as more people lose benefits.
“I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to do this. As of right now, our staff are completely stretched thin,” she said. “It's going to get to a point where we're not going to be able to help everyone who needs help, and then what? We're marching towards a boiling point.”
Restoring Dignity has started a “Feed a Family” program that gives families grocery gift cards. It has fed 38 families. The Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement’s Stability program has similarly helped 130 families access food.
More changes to SNAP could be coming to Nebraska. Gov. Jim Pillen is considering limiting USDA food pantry access for non-citizens. Vlach is concerned that the move could compound current food access challenges.
“How do you prove citizenship? What about someone who's homeless? What if they don't have any documents, and they're American-born?” Vlach said. “I don't know. It's not okay.”
Losses for legal immigrants
Some immigrant SNAP users in Nebraska were not subject to the federal changes, but nearly every non-citizen group saw a decrease in participants between last January and April 2026.
Exemptions were provided for certain groups. For example, Cuban-Haitian entrants remained eligible, but 40% of entrants/parolees – about 950 people in Nebraska – stopped receiving benefits. Lawful permanent residents – or “green card” holders – could also keep benefits (though they may be subject to a waiting period). However, about 400 residents were no longer enrolled by this April.
Advocates say those losses could be due to a chilling effect.
“There's significant fear being manufactured by the state and federal government against immigrants and refugees,” said Eric Savaiano, a food access specialist with Nebraska Appleseed. “People on these public benefit programs are turning away from them because they just don't want to be a part of a government system – even though they might need it to feed themselves and their families.”
Savaiano said changes have affected U.S. citizens too through stricter work requirements and income changes.
“Congress really pushed the idea of waste and fraud and abuse, and what they've actually accomplished, though, is just kicking more families, U.S. citizens and individuals off of the program – which may have been their goal all along,” he said. “But it really shows up in the data that more U.S. citizens than the refugee, asylee, and humanitarian visa population are losing benefits.”
Before changes were enacted, immigrants made up about 8% of Nebraska’s total SNAP cases. About 14,000 U.S. citizens have lost benefits compared to 4,600 immigrants and refugees.
For those who are still utilizing benefits, Savaiano said low wages and high costs still force them to make difficult choices.
“There are not enough food pantries to help people get the food that they were getting from SNAP, and so we're seeing more people skip meals. We're hearing about people having to make choices between food and medicine and housing and things like that,” he said.
Savaiano said Appleseed is still encouraging people who need them to apply for benefits.