ORLANDO, Fla. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says they want to tighten up the rules for those who gets food stamps.

  • Dept. of Agriculture wants to tighten rules for SNAP program
  • It wants to restrict “broad-based categorical eligibility"
  • Central Florida food banks say alone, they can't feed the area's hungry

More than 700,000 people in Central Florida use SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), which is the official name of the food stamp program.

The Department of Agriculture wants to restrict what’s called “broad-based categorical eligibility," which means people who are getting assistance from other government programs, like TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), can automatically get food stamps.

Director of Advocacy for Second Harvest Food Bank Kelly Quintero says they provide more than 63 million meals to families each year out of their 100,000 square foot warehouse near downtown Orlando.

But she says that’s not nearly enough to provide for all of Central Florida’s hungry families.

“There’s that gap here in Central Florida of about 114 million meals,” Quintero said.

She says around 700,000 people in Central Florida rely on SNAP to eat. But if the Trump administration were to implement restrictions, then thousands in Central Florida may no longer be eligible for food stamps.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has stated too many people with higher incomes are reportedly trying to cheat the system.

"That is why we are changing the rules, preventing abuse of a critical safety net system, so those who need food assistance the most are the only ones who receive it," Perdue said.

Quintero says if all those people suddenly couldn’t get food stamps anymore, there’s no way food banks in Central Florida could make up the difference.

“For every one meal that we put out into the community, SNAP puts out 12 — 12 meals, so that’s a really impactful number. We would just not be able to make up that need... we’re very concerned about what ramifications that could have for us at the food bank.” Quintero said.

Quintero says they agree that helping people become self-sufficient should always be the goal, but they don’t agree this is the way to do it.

“So we hear what he’s saying we just think more thought needs to be put into these ideas,” Quintero said.

This measure wouldn’t kick everybody off of food stamps — just the people who use another government program like TANF.