Fewer Texans qualifying for SNAP benefits, putting pressure on local food banks

With fewer people qualifying for SNAP benefits in Texas, local food banks and pantries are feeling the pressure.Changes to SNAP requirementsMore than half a million fewer people are qualifying for SNAP benefits in Texas. That decline is tied to changes in work requirement rules that became law last year under HR-1, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed under President Donald Trump.Celia Cole, the executive director of Feeding Texas, explained the impact of the legislative changes. Feeding Texas is a network of 20 food banks providing hunger help across the state."Primarily HR-1 created new work requirements for new populations," Cole said. "So everyone's always had to work in order to receive SNAP if they're able-bodied, but seniors and parents and kids were exempt, and HR-1 changed that. So now adults 60 to 64 have to be working in order to get benefits. If they fail to work for more than three months, they're cut off from food assistance, and the same is true for parents w