With changes to SNAP requirements beginning as early as November 2025, Care for Friends has designed and begun implementing a structured volunteer program that supports individuals in meeting their work-related eligibility criteria while providing meaningful service to the community. The program may also help reduce the risk of homelessness by easing financial pressures related to food, which are common factors contributing to housing instability.

Program Concept:

This program targets individuals at risk of losing their SNAP benefits due to being unable to meet the updated work and/or volunteer requirements.

Rather than implementing this program exclusively through Care for Friends (CFF), the intent is to develop a scalable framework and infrastructure that enables collaboration with key community partners. This approach allows coalitions to adopt the program using the provided toolkit and implement the program within their networks. Care for Friends grants permission to remove its logo from the PowerPoint presentation and replace it with logos that resonate more closely with the communities being served. A recorded training is also available. 

Program structure:

Participants will have the flexibility to sign up for volunteer opportunities that allow them to fulfill their required work or volunteer hours, either within a single organization or across multiple ones. For example, an individual could complete 15 hours with Organization A, 10 hours with another nearby organization, and continue accumulating hours in a way that aligns with their schedule, abilities, and interests.

Meanwhile, agencies will post for their volunteering needs, from which participants will have the ability to choose placements based on location and type of volunteer work, increasing engagement and retention. This participant-driven approach fosters stronger engagement and builds lasting connections between volunteers and host organizations.