‘Hawaii Is the Only State Where Food Benefits Went Down’: Family of Four Loses $34 a Month as Every Other State Gets a Raise

Every October, SNAP benefits get their annual cost-of-living adjustment, and this year almost every family in America saw their food assistance go up. Almost. For households in Hawaii, the new fiscal year brought the opposite: their benefits went down — making Hawaii the only state in the country where the maximum SNAP allotment decreased on October 1, 2026.

The USDA’s fiscal year 2027 COLA raised maximum benefits across all 48 contiguous states, Washington D.C., Alaska, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In the 48 states, a single-person household’s maximum rose from $298 to $306 a month, and a family of four went from $994 to $1,023. But in Hawaii, every household size took a cut: a family of four’s maximum dropped from $1,689 to $1,655 — $34 less per month — while a single person’s maximum fell from $506 to $496 and an eight-person household from $3,040 to $2,979. Even Hawaii’s minimum benefit slipped, from $41 to $40.

Hawaii’s Fourth Straight Year of Cuts

This isn’t a one-time dip. According to a timeline from Hawaii Appleseed, the October 1 change — labeled the “SNAP Monthly Allotment Decrease” — marks the fourth consecutive year of reductions for the state, driven by a USDA re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan. More decreases are already scheduled through federal fiscal year 2029.

The cuts are already hitting the people least able to absorb them. In a September 23 Instagram reel that’s drawn 2,800 likes and 460 comments, a licensed therapist in Hawaii who serves Med-Quest clients said several of her clients — all seniors and disabled people on fixed incomes who cannot work — told her their EBT benefits were being cut. She pointed viewers to the Hawaii Appleseed timeline and noted that nearly 1 in 3 Hawaii households already can’t consistently afford food, with children and seniors hit hardest. Her message to anyone on EBT: check your mail and check the website, because the new amounts are already in effect.

Hawaii’s Department of Human Services announced the new allotment tables in a September 2025 press release, and local outlets like Maui Now have been warning residents about the decrease for weeks. “This change is not easy for families who are already working hard to make ends meet, and we know every dollar matters when putting food on the table,” said DHS Director Ryan Yamane in the release. The contrast with the rest of the country is stark: while a family of three in Alaska’s Rural 2 region can now receive up to $1,602 a month and Guam’s four-person maximum sits at $1,507, Hawaii families are budgeting around a smaller check than last year — in the state with some of the highest grocery prices in America.

In the comments, people couldn’t agree on what $34 means. Some said it’s barely a trip to the store. Others said that in Hawaii, where a gallon of milk can top $8, every dollar counts — and a cut, in any amount, stings hardest for the families who had the least to begin with.

Sources: Hawaii DHS press release (Sept 23, 2025); USDA FY2027 COLA tables; @unconditionalcaare via Instagram; Hawaii Appleseed timeline; Maui Now.