8/5/2026: 82,064 Louisiana children lose food benefits due to LDH procedures.
Louisiana’s SNAP numbers drop, but not due to work requirements or citizenship: State data overwhelmingly point to ‘procedural reasons’ for decline in food aid recipients, Wesley Muller, Louisiana Illuminator
“A substantial portion of those who’ve lost SNAP benefits in Louisiana are children. State data from July 2025 through June show a decrease of 82,064 child recipients over the period — a 23% decline that’s larger than the drop for any other group.”
There is no question that Louisiana’s children continue to struggle in the face of some of the nation’s highest child poverty rates. Low per capita income and huge infrastructure gaps in rural parishes compound the problems of their poverty and hunger. Louisiana’s children face persistent hurdles to upward mobility because poverty buries families in a crushing cycle of poverty, like stones piled on top of stones.
Given our state’s historic child poverty rates and poor child well-being, this unprecedented decrease in the number of children receiving SNAP calls for Louisiana to review and ensure that its procedures are not barriers to children receiving SNAP benefits.
According to Agenda for Children, a NOLA-based child research, service, and advocacy organization, Louisiana’s child poverty rate at 19% is the worst in the nation. Even worse is that the 19% is possible only because of efforts like SNAP and the Child Tax Credit. Without these measures, the child poverty rate in Louisiana would nearly double to 35%.
Louisiana’s hungry children need the supplemental nutrition, the food, that SNAP provides. Louisiana cannot allow procedures that go beyond the control of hungry children to become a barrier to their health and well-being!