Press Release: 11/2/2026

MLRI Applauds the Legislature for Transformative Investment to Improve Access to SNAP

 

The House and Senate Ways and Means included $28 million in new funds for desperately needed DTA caseworkers. 

BOSTON, MA (October 30, 2026) – The House and the Senate Ways and Means Committee have stood up for 1 in 7 Massachusetts residents who need help putting food on the table. Both have included funding for badly-needed staff for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to administer the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

 

Families face an unprecedented crisis accessing SNAP. Since January 2026, an average of 77 percent of calls trying to reach a worker for help have been automatically disconnected. The result? Thousands of eligible residents have been denied SNAP. 

As fuel, food, medicine and insurance costs soar, the number of residents on SNAP has fallen by about 200,000 since last July – including 70,000 children. Many of these low-income residents have been cut-off solely because they could not get through the phone line to talk to a worker. 

These challenges have been worsened by the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress. Their efforts to eviscerate SNAP through red-tape and confusing rules add to the workload for DTA staff and make it harder for vulnerable residents to access the benefits they need. 

The House took the first step to address the access crisis by including $28 million to hire hundreds of new caseworkers in a supplemental budget. The Senate Committee on Ways and Means matched that amount in its proposal yesterday. MLRI is grateful to the Legislature for their decisive leadership. 

We look forward to speedy Senate action to provide the $28 million to hire new workers and to the Governor signing soon after that. Given the agreement from legislative leaders to provide these critical funds, we urge DTA to immediately plan for the hiring of hundreds of new caseworkers. Hungry residents cannot keep waiting for help. 

MLRI looks forward to continuing our advocacy with the Administration and the Massachusetts Legislature to end the SNAP access crisis, restore SNAP to families who should never have lost benefits, and rebuild our lowest-income residents’ trust that DTA will provide quick and reliable help. 

Contacts:

Vicky Negus

vnegus@mlri.org | 857.241.1723

Patricia Baker 

pbaker@mlri.org | 857.241.1726