KS-SEN: Kansas leaders reject demands for food program data; feds threaten to withhold some funding
TOPEKA — State leaders continued to stand firm against federal demands for personal data of Kansans who have received food assistance, even after a letter last week threatened funding losses.
Kansas Department for Children and Families secretary Laura Howard laid out objections to turning over the data of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program applicants and users in a Monday news release. The data includes Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses and more.
“The USDA’s data request is for the purpose of creating a federal database of SNAP participant information that may be disclosed to other entities, and it is unclear whether those entities are legally allowed to access that information,” the release said.
Collecting the extensive dataset, which is more than has been required in the past from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, may cost as much as $100,000, the release said. In addition, the current secure way DCF transfers data to the federal government is not set up to handle that amount of information.
https://kansasreflector.com/2025/08/18/kansas-leaders-reject-demands-for-food-program-data-feds-threaten-to-withhold-some-funding/