BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana officials don't yet know how many of the state's food stamp recipients could be at risk of losing their benefits because of a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements on the program.
About 49,000 of the 810,000 people in Louisiana who rely on the federal food stamp program meet the definition of work-eligible adults as outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that takes effect in April, according to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.
It's unclear how many of those already may be working and how many still will face other exemptions from the work requirements, the department said. Agency officials said they still are examining the new USDA rules to determine their impact and will reach out directly to anyone who could be affected by the changes.
But the family services department is stressing to food stamp recipients that no one will lose their food aid through March 31 because of the work requirement changes. The agency said it has been inundated with concerns from people worried they might see their food assistance yanked over the holidays.
