Phoenix offers $700 in short-term assistance to residents who lost SNAP benefits

Phoenix households that lost federal grocery benefits within the last nine months can now receive $700 in short-term financial assistance from the city.

The Targeted One-Time Crisis Assistance Program is open to applicants who currently reside in Phoenix or receive water services from the city and who lost Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits on or after Oct. 1, 2025.

SNAP is the federal food assistance benefit formerly known as food stamps.

Qualified applicants will get $600 applied toward a utility account along with $100 in transportation assistance (gas card or bus/light rail pass).

The boost is covered through the City Council’s $3.15 million supplemental budget allocation for flexible financial assistance.

How to file for Phoenix assistance after losing SNAP benefits

Applications can be submitted online and must include valid photo identification, proof of Phoenix residency, SNAP case numbers and utility account numbers.

Responses will be issued within 15 business days. The targeted program will end when the allotted funding runs out.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Arizona saw a 47% drop in the number of residents receiving SNAP benefits in the seven months after a sweeping federal spending law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was enacted in July 2025.

The law tightened SNAP eligibility by expanding work requirements, limiting states’ ability to waive them and cutting off some legal immigrants.

It also created a new financial penalty: Starting in late 2027, most states must pay a share of benefit costs tied to their error rates, giving them a powerful incentive to aggressively tighten paperwork and verification checks.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s David Iversen contributed to this report.

You can help Arizonans facing food insecurity through “Outspoken Against Hunger,” a fundraising campaign for St. Mary’s Food Bank by KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.

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