USDA Demands Data on Food Stamp Recipients

M.A. Dworkin

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made an unprecedented demand on States to share personal information on all 41.7 million  federal food assistance recipients who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The identifying information includes, but is not limited to, names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers, as well as the dollar amount each recipient has received over a time period dating back to 2020.  

Although a recently filed federal lawsuit seeks to postpone the data collection, the deadline for sending this information was July 30, 2025. States who do not comply with the USDA’s data demand could lose funds. 

U.S, District Judge Maxine M. Chesney issued a preliminary order in San Francisco blocking the Trump Administration from punishing States for refusing to turn over SNAP data. The ruling means, as the case continues, the Trump Administration cannot legally follow through with threats to withhold SNAP administrative funds that add up to billions of dollars annually from the 21 States and the District of Columbia that are parties to the lawsuit and have refused to share the data.

Chesney wrote in her 25-page order the States are likely to succeed in their claim that “USDA, in demanding such data, acted in a manner contrary to law…and States are likely to show the SNAP Act prohibits them from disclosing to USDA the information demanded.” 

At least 27 States, with Republican Governors, have already shared data on millions of people, but most Democratic-led States have refused to give in to the Trump Administration’s demands. The USDA notified States in May 2025, citing an Executive Order (EO) signed by President Trump that says federal agencies should ensure the federal government has “unfettered access” to data from State programs that receive federal funds. 

The U.S. Virgin Islands, neither the Department of Human Services nor the USVI government, as of this date, has not been asked to turn over any data on SNAP recipients and therefore has not released any such data to the USDA. 

In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, 13 Democratic Senators, led by California’s Sen. Adam Schiff berated a public notice the USDA issued that grants the agency broad authority to use SNAP recipients data. 

“This policy would turn a program that feeds millions of Americans into a tool of government mass surveillance,” the Senators wrote. They called on the agency to reverse course and warned otherwise the USDA “will be at serious risk of violating federal law.”

The USDA has framed needing the data as necessary to accomplish the Trump Administration’s goal of identifying and eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. But detractors claim it is part of a pattern to collect personal data for purposes that include immigration enforcement. 

“Let’s be crystal clear: The President is trying to hijack a nutrition program to fuel his mass surveillance agenda,” stated California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “The Trump Administration can try all it wants to strong arm states into legally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side.”

The demands for data come amidst recent federal legislation that ends exemptions to work requirements for older adults, homeless people, veterans and some rural residents, among others. A rapid timeline to put the changes into effect has sparked chaos in State agencies that must cut off access if residents don’t meet certain work, education or volunteer reporting requirements. States are rushing to inform some residents who rely on food stamps (SNAP) that they will soon be forced to meet work requirements or lose their food assistance.