Just Harvest’s Response to Governor Shapiro's Pennsylvania Budget Proposal
Last week, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his proposal for Pennsylvanians 2026-2027 budget. We thank Governor Shapiro for raising important issues like a needed increase to our minimum wage, investments in transit and training programs, and tax credits that help provide economic support to families. However, we must also recognize the issues that fell short in this proposal – and require continued advocacy. Pennsylvanians deserve a budget that does not just fill the gaps, but invests in long-term stability and the urgent needs of everyday people.
Continues Recent Investments for Working Families:
Continues to fund the PA Food Bucks program. The new PA Food Bucks program will enable continuation and expansion of current SNAP incentive programs at farmers markets and grocery stores.
Keeps the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit, which was created in the 2025-2026 budget. According to the Pennsylvania Policy Center, The Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit will put $193 million back into the pockets of 940,000 Pennsylvanians.
And keeps the Child and Dependent Care Enhancement Tax Credit in the 2024-2025 budget. Tax credits like these make meaningful impacts for Pennsylvanians during challenging times - some of whom are living below the poverty level.
However, this budget did not make additional or deeper level investments in these programs.
Proposes New Investments in Workers, Health Programs, Child Care, and Transit:
Governor Shapiro proposes increasing the minimum wage to $15. Here in Pennsylvania, the minimum wage has not changed since 2009 – sitting at just $7.25/hour. This is a critical change that is long overdue for families in Pennsylvania working hard to make ends meet. And while people are forced to make difficult sacrifices to keep food on the table, other basic needs are not being met. Economic support is the most essential way we can uplift families and combat rising hunger
In Shapiro's proposal, further funding has been allocated to Pennsylvanians, Bridges to Success: Investments in Health for Pennsylvania. This includes an investment in a Food is Medicine initiative – to address barriers to healthcare access. Investments like this help to realize the broader approach that must be taken to protect people in Pennsylvania.
This budget also made modest investments in transit and childcare, both essential services for working families, but did not go far enough to cover the gaps in funding and service.
Protects SNAP by Filling in Gaps Created by the Federal Government, but does not go far enough:
Early last year, Congress passed HR1, which included major changes to funding that threaten the stability of programs like SNAP. This included an increased state cost share SNAP administration costs. As outlined in Shapiro’s proposal, this will cost Pennsylvania $86 million dollars in order to continue operating the program at the current level of staffing.
This budget does not significantly add more staffing, meaning that reaching a worker by phone or having paperwork processing delays can impact all recipients. Due to the additional paperwork and eligibility requirements for both SNAP and Medical Assistance created by HR1, more time and effort is required of caseworkers, resulting in a need to add staffing to DHS in order to timely and accurately administer benefits.
This budget did not include an investment in improving the security of SNAP benefits and protecting recipients from fraud. The public safety net is experiencing an ongoing attack, and public assistance programs like SNAP are a lifeline for millions of people. When we talk about “fraud and abuse,” we are still disregarding a major issue: the rapidly rising theft of SNAP benefits through electronic skimming. More than $17 million in SNAP benefits have been stolen from financially struggling families since 2022. Pennsylvania must take action to prevent theft and invest in chip-enabled EBT cards.
Flat funds other critical services:
The new SNAP rules mean that many of our neighbors – including many lawful immigrants, such as refugees – will no longer be eligible for SNAP. As a result increased funding for emergency food services are essential. However, there were no proposed funding increases for these programs despite growing costs and needs for services.
It is imperative that we hold policymakers accountable to pass a budget that meets the current needs of Pennsylvanian’s, and invests in a future where fewer people go hungry or lack essential resources.
