Nearly one in five District residents count on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy groceries.1 Due to recent changes in federal law, SNAP customers who meet the definition of Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (or ABAWD) may need to meet work requirements beginning in early 2026 to keep their SNAP benefits. Work requirements can be met through paid work, participating in an education or training program, or volunteering. The Lab is partnering with the Department of Human Services (DHS) to design Workfare—a program that matches SNAP customers to volunteer opportunities that help them build toward career goals and meet their work requirements.
Dairy products on a grocery store shelf. (Image credit: Kenny Eliason on Unsplash)
Why is this issue important in DC?
The recent change in federal rules means an estimated one in eight DC SNAP customers, or roughly 21,000 customers, will need to start doing additional work, school, or volunteering to keep their benefits. As we design Workfare, ensuring the program is easy to participate in and administer could help more people keep their benefits. Research has shown that SNAP is important for promoting food security and health, so protecting access to these benefits is critical.2
What are we doing?
We are helping DHS design Workfare so residents who are not able to find work or engage in education activities can retain their SNAP benefits. We have spoken with frontline staff and partner organizations, experts from other states, and customers themselves to get ideas for how to make Workfare easy to use.
What have we learned?
DHS has helped SNAP customers find jobs or education for years through SNAP Employment and Training (E&T). Over 2,000 people seeking help to advance their careers came to SNAP E&T and their service providers last year. Taking into account the new work requirements, DHS predicts that the number of people who turn to SNAP E&T will increase. Workfare, which will be run by SNAP E&T, will give these residents another option to meet their requirements.
What comes next?
Throughout the winter and spring, we will create guidance documents and other materials for customers, staff, organizations that will host volunteers, and other partners.
What happened behind the scenes?
The new federal policy requirements are complex. We spoke to states that have experience running Workfare volunteer programs—like Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Washington—and policy experts in DHS to understand the federal rules. Then we created simple explanations that make the new rules easier to understand for both customers and frontline staff. To make sure the explanations are clear and easy to follow, we will test them with different types of users before DHS shares them with customers and staff.