Here’s how many people in south-central Pa. will be impacted by SNAP freeze

• Jaxon White/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  I report on how decisions made in Pennsylvania’s state Capitol ripple across communities throughout the commonwealth. My coverage centers on the General Assembly, the Governor’s Office and the broader landscape of Pennsylvania politics.
  
  I’m especially interested in the development and regulation of artificial intelligence, how public officials manage taxpayer dollars and policy ideas aimed at addressing everyday — and sometimes overlooked — challenges.
  
  I grew up just north of Pittsburgh in Beaver County, Pa., and graduated from Bucknell University in 2023. My first reporting gig was at LNP | LancasterOnline as a politics reporter, before I started at WITF in the summer of 2025.

 Al Behrman / AP Photo

Kroger, the supermarket chain, is monitoring some stores to see if cuts in food stamp will affect sales. But spokesman John Elliot expects food to remain a spending priority.

Across 19 counties in south-central Pennsylvania, more than 300,000 people receive help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to purchase food.

No one is expected to receive SNAP assistance in November. 

President Donald Trump’s administration paused payments amid the federal government shutdown, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would not tap its nearly $6 billion in reserves to continue the program. 

Here is how many people in each of the counties in WITF’s coverage area will be impacted, according to data from the state Department of Human Services.

Adams

Population: 104,604.

SNAP-enrolled: 8,827.

Berks

Population: 428,483.

SNAP-enrolled: 59,900.

Centre

Population: 158,665.

SNAP-enrolled: 8,783.

Columbia

Population: 64,924.

SNAP-enrolled: 8,921.

Cumberland

Population: 261,269.

SNAP-enrolled: 26,448.

Dauphin

Population: 286,108.

SNAP-enrolled: 51,744.

Franklin

Population: 156,084.

SNAP-enrolled: 19,168.

Juniata

Population: 23,535.

SNAP-enrolled: 2,568.

Lancaster

Population: 553,202.

SNAP-enrolled: 55,131.

Lebanon

Population: 143,258.

SNAP-enrolled: 18,427.

Mifflin

Population: 46,146.

SNAP-enrolled: 7,585.

Montour

Population: 18,165.

SNAP-enrolled: 1,949.

Northumberland

Population: 91,340.

SNAP-enrolled: 18,410.

Perry

Population: 45,941.

SNAP-enrolled: 4,827.

Schuylkill

Population: 143,201.

SNAP-enrolled: 25,746.

Snyder

Population: 39,797.

SNAP-enrolled: 3,783.

Union

Population: 42,908.

SNAP-enrolled: 3,404.

York

Population: 457,051.

SNAP-enrolled: 59,500.

Sometimes, your mornings are just too busy to catch the news beyond a headline or two. Don’t worry. The Morning Agenda has got your back. Each weekday morning, The Morning Agenda will keep you informed, amused, enlightened and up-to-date on what’s happening in central Pennsylvania and the rest of this great commonwealth.

Learn More