Changes to Wisconsin’s FoodShare program set to take effect this year

Apr 30, 2026

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MADISON, Wis. — Decisions at both the federal and state levels are creating changes to Wisconsin’s version of the SNAP program.

Feeding Wisconsin is among the organizations that help Wisconsinites understand FoodShare, which is known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Executive Director Jackie Anderson said navigating FoodShare has been a difficult task over the past several months.

“There’s been a lot to maneuver really since October of last year; there’s a lot of changes,” Anderson said. “Our role is to create communications for the participants.”

Reno Wright of the Hunger Task Force said providing assistance with FoodShare is also one of his organization’s priorities.

“We work with FoodShare recipients and FoodShare applicants to help them apply for FoodShare and mitigate any challenges that they might be having,” Wright said.

Data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) shows FoodShare had a monthly average of more than 650,000 participants as of March 2026.

President Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ is creating new requirements that people need to meet in order to keep their benefits. They include expanded work hours for people up to the age of 64 and for parents who have children over the age of 14.

“They have to work 80 hours per month or do some sort of volunteer activity or participate in a work program for 80 hours a month in order to maintain those benefits,” Wright said.

There are also new limitations on what can be bought with FoodShare. Gov. Evers signed a bill into law last month that prohibits using FoodShare to buy candy or soft drinks. Anderson said she didn’t agree with the measure when it was first introduced.

“We originally were very opposed to this, very much so,” Anderson said. “We know that we don’t want to limit what someone can purchase through SNAP.”

She said he ultimately supported the bill because of what was added to it. The legislation gives $72M to DHS to cover new administrative costs created by the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’.

Starting Oct. 1, Wisconsin will be required to pay 75% of the cost of running FoodShare, with the federal government covering the other 25%.

The cost will continue to be split evenly between the two until the change takes effect. Wisconsin could also have to pay millions of dollars in penalties if FoodShare exceeds a 6% error rate.

Anderson believes the money from the Legislature will help DHS run the program more effectively.

“All these new work eligibility requirements, they’re going to have the staffing to help people with the application process so that we can make sure that our error rate stays as low as it is,” Anderson said.

Evers said he didn’t want to limit what groceries people could buy, but concessions were necessary in order to get DHS the funding it needed.

“It’s one of those things we call compromise in the Legislature and the governor’s office, so this for sure takes precedence,” Evers said.

Evers vetoed a separate FoodShare bill that would have required DHS to provide enrollment data to the USDA.

The governor said he struck the bill down due to concerns over the privacy of Wisconsinites.

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Source: https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2026/04/23/food-hunger-candy-soda-trump

Hunger Task Force is Milwaukee’s Free & Local food bank and Wisconsin’s anti-hunger leader. The organization provides healthy and nutritious food to hungry children, families and seniors in the community absolutely free of charge. Hunger Task Force was founded in 1974 by a local advocacy group who then formed Milwaukee’s first food bank. Today, Hunger Task Force is 100% supported by the community and provides a safety net of emergency food with dignity to a network of 75 food pantries, soup kitchens and homeless shelters. Through legislative analysis, education and community organizing, Hunger Task Force continues to advocate for anti-hunger policy at the local, state and federal level.