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).
The shutdown reminded all of America how critical SNAP is. We must protect SNAP to continue ensuring that low-income families can put food on the table.
BOSTON, MA (November 14, 2025) – For the first time in American history, SNAP households did not get their food benefits on time because the Trump Administration refused to use available funds during the government shutdown. 650,000 low-income Massachusetts households were affected by the chaos, uncertainty, and unprecedented delay in SNAP benefits.
The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute applauds Governor Healey and the Massachusetts Legislature for investing in secure EBT cards to protect SNAP food benefit recipients against theft. The FY 25 supplemental budget (S.2575, item 4400-1033), signed into law this week, includes $15.5 million for the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) to upgrade EBT cards with chip technology.
For Immediate Release
For more information: Madeline Graf: mgraf@mlri.org | (857) 241-1745
President Trump and Congress Strip Food and Health Insurance from Millions of Residents
Massachusetts must marshall its resources to mitigate harm and protect its residents from the unconscionable impacts of the reconciliation bill
BOSTON, MA (July 4, 2025) – Today, President Trump signed a bill from Republicans in Congress that cuts the largest amount from food assistance and healthcare in history - all to pay for tax cuts for wealthy corporations and billionaires.
Dumping federal costs onto Massachusetts and slashing eligibility for very low-income residents will increase hunger, worsen health, and deepen poverty.
BOSTON, MA (May 23, 2025) – Early yesterday morning, Republicans in Congress voted to pass the largest cuts to food assistance and healthcare in history - all to pay for tax cuts for wealthy corporations and billionaires.
One in six Massachusetts residents receive SNAP benefits to buy groceries and help put food on the table. One in three state residents – including nearly half of all children and people with disabilities – rely on Medicaid (MassHealth) for health coverage. If this bill becomes law, millions of Massachusetts residents with low incomes will face significant cuts to food benefits and lose access to health care.
CONTACT:
Project Bread: Allison Epstein, 203-915-8364 allison@teakmedia.com
MLRI: Madeline Graf, (857) 241-1745, mgraf@mlri.org
Advocates, food security organizations and partners across the Northeast rally to protect critical food benefits that support local economies and help families buy groceries.
[Massachusetts] — As Congress deliberates a budget reconciliation bill that would drastically cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, advocates across the Northeast —including Project Bread, Children’s HealthWatch, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, The Greater Boston Food Bank, Merrimack Valley Food Bank, Worcester County Food Bank, and others —have joined together to raise the alarm.
The Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) and 149 Massachusetts organizations are standing together to call on the MA Congressional Delegation to forcefully oppose any proposals that would harm critical federal safety net programs. With Congress considering severe cuts to SNAP, Medicaid (MassHealth), and TANF through budget reconciliation, the 150 organizations urge the Delegation to protect and defend our nation’s vital anti-poverty programs, including:
BOSTON, MA (December 23, 2024) – Low-income families struggling to put food on the table are a major casualty of last week’s political maneuvering to avoid a government shutdown.
Since summer 2022, thousands of Massachusetts families have had their food benefits stolen through no fault of their own due to organized card-skimming schemes. SNAP benefits are particularly vulnerable to theft because the benefit cards use a magnetic stripe instead of a chip. To make matters worse, Congress in 1996 denied SNAP families the recourse available to other cardholders whose funds are stolen.
For Massachusetts residents seeking legal advice and information:
For legal services advocates and attorneys: