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More than 22 million American families, including nearly 300,000 in Colorado, are projected to lose food assistance through SNAP — formerly food stamps — under President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending law. A new analysis says the law is also expected to strip children of free school meals and summer EBT benefits by revoking automatic eligibility that comes with SNAP.

Brace Gibson, policy director of the Colorado Blueprint to End Hunger, said the new law will disproportionately impact the state’s most vulnerable communities.

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"And this is true for immigrant populations — even those who are lawfully present — children, and former foster youths, veterans, unhoused populations, and older adults, all of whom are at risk of losing some or all of their SNAP benefits," he said.

There are 370.000 veterans in Colorado, and many who depend on SNAP are expected to lose benefits under the law’s expanded work requirements. Republicans have long argued that work requirements help end dependency on government programs. But decades of research shows that requirements do not improve employment outcomes. Republicans defend the law, which extends tax cuts passed under the first Trump administration, and say it will help reform the nation's social safety net and reduce what they describe as unsustainable federal spending.

More than two million people are expected to lose SNAP assistance each month, according to the Congressional Budget Office, including more than one million who live where jobs are scarce. Gibson said when people don’t have nutrition access, they’re more likely to get sick.

"What we’re likely to see is severe hunger and malnutrition, worsening public health outcomes, and ultimately an over-burdening of our entire safety net," he continued.

The new law reduces SNAP funding by $189 billion, and Medicaid by one trillion dollars, which Gibson noted represents the largest cuts to programs supporting basic needs in the nation’s history. Each month, 40 million Americans receive SNAP food assistance, including 16 million children, eight million seniors, and four million non-elderly adults with disabilities.

"SNAP is an indispensable program," he concluded. "It’s the largest food assistance program in the country. And in Colorado, more than 600,000 individuals rely on it for food and nutrition."