Congress Is About to Take Food Away From the Poorest People in America

 Between 500,000 and 1 million people nationwide, most of them living in extreme poverty, will soon lose their SNAP benefits.

By Michelle Chen

This April Fools’ Day, Congress will play a cruel trick on the country’s most destitute people: It will make their food disappear. They will lose access to food stamps—not because they’re no longer in need of assistance, but because, in a way, they need it too much.

A twisted legislative quirk embedded in the Clinton-era welfare reform law is timed to go into effect after March 31 in several states, blowing a gaping hole in the already threadbare social safety net.