Hakeem Jeffries said 20% of veteran households use food stamps. That’s Mostly False

Slamming House Republicans for considering cuts to federal safety net programs, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., zeroed in on veterans as a vulnerable group.

"About 20% of households with veterans rely upon supplemental nutritional food assistance," Jeffries said May 8. He referred to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, sometimes called "food stamps."

Jeffries’ statement followed news reports that House Republicans are pushing to limit future SNAP benefit increases, add additional work requirements and shift some SNAP costs — which historically have been entirely paid by the federal government — to states.

Jeffries cited an inaccurate figure. The share of veterans relying on SNAP benefits is about 8%, according to an April 2 report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank. 

Jeffries’ office did not provide evidence to back up his statement.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report cited Agriculture Department data showing that 11% of veterans nationwide ages 18 to 64 experienced food insecurity from 2015 to 2019. The department defined "food insecurity" as "limited or uncertain access to enough food"  because of a lack of economic resources. The department found that veterans were 7% more likely than nonveterans to experience food insecurity, after controlling for a range of socioeconomic and demographic characteristics.

The center’s report used U.S. Census Bureau data from 2021 to 2023 to estimate the number of veterans living in households that received any SNAP benefits during the 12 months before being surveyed. 

The report estimated that more than 1.2 million veterans lived in households receiving SNAP benefits, which is 8% of the 16.2 million U.S. veteran population during that period.

Luis Nuñez, a research analyst with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and author of its report, said that the 8% covers all veterans, whether they live alone or with others. 

The highest percentage of veterans on food stamps in any state was 14% in Oregon, followed by 11% in Louisiana, New Mexico and West Virginia.

Featured Fact-check

Mike Johnson

stated on May 25, 2025 in a "Face the Nation" episode

“We are not cutting” the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Data from a few years earlier showed lower percentages than the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report. 

Think tank Rand Corp. studied data from 2015 to 2020 and found that 4.9% of veterans nationwide lived in households receiving SNAP benefits at some point in the previous 12 months. A 2022 Government Accountability Office report found that 6.5% of all veterans received SNAP benefits in 2019. And the Agriculture Department found that in 2018 and 2019, the average was 6.6%.

Our ruling

Jeffries said, "About 20% of households with veterans rely upon" the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. 

An April 2 study found that 8% of veterans rely on SNAP benefits. No state had a share higher than 14%. 

Studies with data from a few years earlier show rates from 4.9% to 6.6%.

There’s an element of truth that veterans face food insecurity at a higher level than nonveterans. But the statement ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. So we rate the statement Mostly False.