States sue USDA over efforts to gather food stamp data on tens of millions of people

States sue USDA over efforts to gather food stamp data on tens of millions of people
July 28, 20251:00 PM ET
By Jude Joffe-Block


A coalition of 20 states and Washington, D.C. announced a new lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the federal agency told states to turn over the detailed, personal information of food assistance applicants and their household members.

The USDA has told states they have until July 30 to turn over data about all applicants to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, over the last five years, including names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses. Last week, the agency broadened the scope of information it is collecting to include other data points, including immigration status and information about household members.

More than 40 million people rely on food assistance programs run by the states and funded by the federal government. The Agriculture Department has told states to turn over their personal data, along with data of members of their household, by July 30.

The new federal lawsuit, led by Democratic attorneys general from California and New York, argues the unprecedented data demand violates various federal privacy laws and the Constitution, according to a news release about the suit. The states are asking a judge to block USDA from withholding funds from states that do not turn over the data.

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https://www.npr.org/2025/07/28/nx-s1-5482842/snap-usda-privacy-lawsuit