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About 15 percent of LGBTQ+ adults — nearly 2.1 million people, including 250,000 trans individuals and 1.3 million lesbian and bisexual women — received SNAP benefits in the past year.
About 15 percent of LGBTQ+ adults received SNAP benefits in the past year.
Cutting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will disproportionately harm the LGBTQ+ community — and women and transgender people will bear the brunt of the changes.
About 15 percent of LGBTQ+ adults — nearly 2.1 million people, including 250,000 trans individuals and 1.3 million lesbian and bisexual women — received SNAP benefits in the past year, according to a new report by the Williams Institute, compared to 11 percent of non-LGBTQ+ adults.
SNAP is the largest anti-hunger program in the U.S., supporting over 42 million people monthly. The current Budget Reconciliation Bill, Donald Trump's so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," would cause an estimated seven million people to either lose their SNAP benefits or see their benefits greatly reduced. It would also cut federal spending on Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by more than $1 trillion over the next decade.
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Almost 70 percent of LGBTQ+ adults who received SNAP benefits had household incomes under $35,000, 66 percent were living with a disability, and 49 percent had a child under 18 living in their household. Over 90 percent of LGBTQ+ adults who received SNAP were either currently working (42 percent), had worked in the past year (6 percent), were students (8 percent), homemakers (9 percent), retired (5 percent), or were unable to work (21 percent).
Parents with dependent children under 18 who receive SNAP benefits are currently exempt from working. The Budget Reconciliation Bill passed by Republicans in the House of Representatives would lower that age to seven, while the version passed by the Senate would lower the age to 14. The bill could also impact students who rely free school meals, who often qualify because their families qualify for food stamps.
“Research shows that LGBT adults and youth are at higher risk of food insecurity compared to non-LGBT people," lead author Brad Sears, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Law and Policy at the Williams Institute, said in a statement. "Reducing SNAP benefits would disproportionately affect cisgender lesbian and bisexual women, transgender individuals, and LGBT people of color, who are more likely to face poverty and depend on food assistance.”
For those impacted by food insecurity, the LGBT Life Center offers free food pantries — "Pride Pantries" — at their locations. The Queer Food Foundations also provides assistance to Black queer and trans people.
