By AMELIA FERRELL KNISELY HD Media
CHARLESTON, WVa. — More than 25,000 West Virginians would lose food stamp benefits under a Trump administration proposal that would change how states determine eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Nearly 300,000 West Virginia residents rely on SNAP, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Resources. One-third of SNAP recipients in the state are children.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in July the proposed changes that would, in part, tighten SNAP eligibility by removing automatic enrollment if an individual already applied for other state-run benefit programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
USDA officials said the proposal could save the country $2.5 billion per year and eliminate what they said was widespread abuse of the program due to the lack of eligibility checks. …