{"id":893419,"date":"2026-06-26T05:09:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T05:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/893419\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T05:09:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T05:09:20","slug":"new-work-requirements-to-keep-snap-benefits-are-causing-confusion-for-some-heres-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/893419\/","title":{"rendered":"New work requirements to keep SNAP benefits are causing confusion for some. Here’s why."},"content":{"rendered":"

CBS News New York Investigates is looking into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and the new work requirements<\/a> in order to keep them.<\/p>\n

A Queens man got a letter from New York City last month saying he must work, train or volunteer 20 hours per week to get food stamps, even though he has no legs.<\/p>\n

It’s one example of the chaos and confusion related to the new federal SNAP rules.<\/p>\n

He turned to CBS News New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas for help.<\/p>\n

Double-leg amputee deemed “able-bodied” by NYC<\/p>\n

Michael Di Pippo wishes he could still work.<\/p>\n

“I wish I was stronger, but I can’t be,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"11-mcnicholas-image.jpg<\/p>\n

Michael Di Poppo was deemed able-bodied by New York City, despite being a double-leg amputee.<\/p>\n

CBS News New York<\/p>\n

The former crane operator from Astoria says doctors amputated both his legs about 10 years ago due to health problems. That’s why he was so puzzled to get a letter from the city calling him “able-bodied” after he signed up for SNAP benefits.<\/p>\n

“Then they sent me what’s called ‘work rules,’ that I’m required to work. You gotta be kidding me. How am I supposed to work? I’m supposed to crawl out of my bed and get to a job every day?” Di Pippo said.<\/p>\n

New federal rules starting this month require many New Yorkers without children to prove they work, train or volunteer 20 hours per week to earn food stamps for a full year.<\/p>\n

SNAP is federally funded, but City Hall sorts out who needs to meet those requirements and who doesn’t — like New Yorkers with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Di Pippo said he first applied in April and thought he provided all the right information to show he’s exempt, but he still got that letter this month.<\/p>\n

Work requirement rollout called “complex”<\/p>\n

Beth Williams of Hunger Free America said Di Pippo should never have received that letter, and other SNAP recipients across the country are running into similar confusion.<\/p>\n

“The fact that he received that letter shows the issue with these work requirements, how complex they are, the rollout of them,” Williams said.<\/p>\n

CBS News New York asked the city Department of Social Services about the letter and it said it was an accident.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said, “We regret the error” and “the federal changes are designed to overburden and undermine the social safety net.”<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the USDA, which funds SNAP, said the requirement “is the opposite of burdensome” and “it’s not a national tragedy to see families exit the welfare rolls.”<\/p>\n

Williams said it’s not that simple.<\/p>\n

“If people were no longer hungry, if they had well-paying jobs, it would be a victory, but that’s not the case. They’re absolutely still dealing with these issues, being underpaid,” Williams said.<\/p>\n

Di Poppo is approved but in limbo \u00a0<\/p>\n

No one from the federal government or New York City would agree to an interview for this story, but a city spokesperson said the Mamdani administration has worked extensively to help 220,000 New Yorkers get exemptions.<\/p>\n

DSS said Di Pippo was approved for SNAP, but he says he’s still trying to get clear answers on how much he’ll receive and when.<\/p>\n

“You knew I had no children, no wife, never married, but you didn’t know I was a double amputee?” Di Pippo said.<\/p>\n

Despite his challenges, Di Pippo said he’d like to find a job, if he could only afford the right prosthetics. He said the prosthetics his insurance will cover are insufficient for above-the-knee amputees like himself.<\/p>\n

\n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBS News New York Investigates is looking into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, and the new work requirements…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":893420,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,21606,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,4413,34690,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-893419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-america","tag-astoria","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkcity","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116814687925405853","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}