Nicole Woo, a senior policy analyst with the advocacy group Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, explained why the higher income limit is important.

“Here in Hawaiʻi, it’s pretty easy for a working family, especially one with kids, to show that they have high costs,” she said. “Housing is part of the cost that counts toward that income flexibility and we have very high housing costs here.” But that flexibility is threatened with the proposed change.

The rule change could also disqualify those with assets. In Hawaiʻi, there are currently no asset limits to qualify for SNAP. That could be eliminated. Instead, the federal asset limit of $2,250 or $3,500, if you are a senior or have a disability, would apply.

“We want to encourage savings and we want people to have a cushion if they have a car repair bill or a medical bill,” Woo said. “It’s going to affect folks like seniors who might have some savings because it will kick them off [SNAP].”

Hawaiʻi Appleseed estimated that about 4,600 children could also lose the free school lunch they receive automatically under SNAP if their families can no longer qualify for the program.

“Anything that drops our SNAP numbers has other effects. It starts to affect our free school lunch numbers and it makes it harder for students and for schools to provide free meals,” Woo said.