Changes To Louisiana's Food Assistance Program Are Now In Place

Louisiana residents who receive food assistance will need to follow new protocol to keep those benefits.

Adults without dependents must work at least 20 hours per week or be enrolled in a federally-approved job training program to receive food assistance, according to The Times-Picayune.

This new requirement went into effect on October 1. If a Louisiana resident does not meet that standard, regardless of whether they are unemployed and are seeking work, they will only receive food assistance for three months during a three-year period.

Before this change, adults between ages 18 and 49 who were capable of working but did not have jobs were allowed Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits without a set time limit.

Louisiana will not be the only state affected by this change. Earlier this year, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities announced that about one million Americans will lose their SNAP benefits this year.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 46.4 million Americans are on food stamps, which is a little under 15 percent of the country's population.