SNAP: Why millionaires are getting food stamps, and how to stop them
Lobster and filet mignon aren't what most people picture when they think of food stamps. Yet in Minnesota, a retired engineer and millionaire used federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits to buy exactly that. His story highlights a loophole that allows households with significant assets to qualify for aid.
SNAP is meant to help Americans in need to afford nutritious food. But a federal policy known as "broad-based categorical eligibility," can extend benefits to households with substantial wealth, diverting resources from those who actually need them. Eliminating that loophole could save taxpayers billions and refocus the program on its core mission.
There are two routes to food stamp eligibility. One is to meet federal income and asset tests. Under standard federal income rules, gross income must not exceed 130 percent of the federal poverty line (that is $41,795 for a household of four in 2025) and net income must not exceed 100 percent of the federal poverty line ($32,150). To qualify in this manner, one must also have assets no greater than $3,000, or $4,500 for those disabled or over 60 years old.
But the second way to qualify is through what is known as "broad-based categorical eligibility." This is where our retired millionaire comes in. Through this mechanism, households can automatically qualify for SNAP if they receive a service from another means-tested program, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, where no asset test is required.
The "services" in question can be as simple as being handed a brochure or being referred to a hotline number. This is why about 20 percent of people enrolled in SNAP through broad-based categorical eligibility have more than $100,000 in assets.
States use these so-called "services" to enroll as many people as possible in SNAP in order to get more federal SNAP money. Broad-based categorical eligibility also allows states to bump up income limits for SNAP, because Temporary Assistance for Needy Families has higher income limits than SNAP. As of late 2025, 46 states use the loophole, and 28 have raised their gross income limit for SNAP to twice the federal poverty line, or $64,300. This has expanded benefits to 5.6 million beneficiaries who would otherwise not qualify.
SNAP has grown substantially since the early 2000s when broad-based categorical eligibility began. In fiscal 2000, average monthly participation in SNAP was 17.2 million. In fiscal 2025, that number was 42.3 million, or one in eight Americans. Participation rates hit a record 88 percent of eligible individuals in fiscal 2022, the highest in SNAP history.
SNAP spending has also soared. In FY 2025, federal food stamp expenditures rose to $101 billion, averaging a monthly benefit of $187 per person. In fiscal 2000, real SNAP spending was a mere $28 billion in today's dollars, meaning it has nearly quadrupled in real terms.
Broad-based categorical eligibility is also associated with higher rates of improper payments in SNAP. By weakening or bypassing traditional income, asset, and eligibility verification requirements, it reduces oversight and increases the program's vulnerability to errors, waste, fraud, and abuse, costing taxpayers billions and eroding public support.
SNAP benefits should be reserved for the truly needy. Yet broad-based categorical eligibility opens the door to inconsistencie s, diverts resources away from the most vulnerable, and undermines program integrity.
The success of welfare should be measured by increased self-reliance and lower poverty, not by growing participation and spending rates. Food stamp loopholes have created incentives for states to grow their governmental authority. According to Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), broad-based categorical eligibility is "frankly, an embarrassment."
Congress should end this alternative method of determining eligibility that is putting millionaires on food stamps. Rigorous verification standards are essential to protecting taxpayer dollars and preserving confidence in this critical safety net.
And states don't have to wait for Congress — they can independently choose not to use broad-based eligibility. Along these lines, state representative s in Minnesota are proposing a bill to impose asset limits.
SNAP participation and spending have seen explosive growth for decades, mostly due to broad-based loopholes. Closing them would restore the program's original income and asset tests, ensuring that limited federal resources reach the households that truly need them most.
Above all, SNAP's purpose should be to provide temporary support, which helps people move toward greater self-reliance — not to maximize enrollment by circumventing the program's eligibility rules.
Topic: SNAP why Minnesota millionaire get Food Stamps? Reminds me my social worker days (Read 16 times)