News · Bay City
SNAP work requirements return to Bay City and eight Michigan counties on Nov. 1: who has to log 80 hours a month
BAY CITY — Starting Sunday, Nov. 1, able-bodied adults on food assistance in Bay City and eight Michigan counties will have to meet federal work rules to keep their benefits beyond three months.
A Michigan Department of Health and Human Services policy bulletin issued Oct. 27 says that, as of Nov. 1, every county in the state falls under the rules except seven counties, Alcona, Cheboygan, Mackinac, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Presque Isle and Schoolcraft, and five cities, Detroit, Eastpointe, Flint, Jackson and Saginaw. The reason given is a requirement of the federal Food and Nutrition Act.
The Mitten Daily compared that list with the one on the department’s own work requirements page, which took effect March 1. Nine places drop off: Bay City and the counties of Alger, Arenac, Iosco, Iron, Luce, Montmorency, Oceana and Roscommon. No new places were added.
Who has to meet the rule
The state calls the program Time Limited Food Assistance. Under its eligibility manual, the rule covers SNAP recipients ages 18 through 64 who have no one under 14 in their food assistance group, unless they qualify for a deferral.
To meet it, a person can work at least 80 hours a month, or earn at least what 20 hours a week would pay at the federal minimum wage. Volunteer and in-kind work count. People can also do unpaid community service for a nonprofit, with the hours equal to their monthly benefit divided by the state minimum wage, or take part in a Michigan Works! employment and training program, which is not offered in every county.
Deferrals in the manual include pregnancy, and being certified as physically or mentally unable to work 20 hours a week. Applying for or getting disability benefits counts, including veterans’ disability benefits at any rating, workers’ compensation or SSI. A caseworker can also find someone obviously unfit for work after an interview, which the manual says can include victims of domestic violence and people struggling with addiction.
What three months means
Anyone who gets a full month of benefits without meeting the rule, a deferral or good cause gets a “countable month.” People can have only three countable months in the current period, which runs from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027.
Under that math, a Bay City adult who has not used any countable months could still get benefits for November, December and January without meeting the rule. After that, the three-month limit in the manual would apply for the rest of the period unless the person starts meeting the rule or qualifies for a deferral.
The department says H.R. 1, the federal law also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, changed the rules for which areas qualify for waivers. Livingston County, Kent County outside Grand Rapids and Oakland County outside Oak Park and Pontiac have been under the requirement since Oct. 1, 2025.
Recipients can report work hours or ask about a deferral through MI Bridges or by calling their local MDHHS office at 1-844-464-3447.
Sources:
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Bridges Policy Bulletin BPB 2026-031, “Time Limited Food Assistance (TLFA),” issued Oct. 27, 2026, effective Nov. 1, 2026 (waived counties and cities), https://mdhhs-pres-prod.michigan.gov/olmweb/exf/BP/Public/BPB/2026-031.pdf
MDHHS, Bridges Eligibility Manual BEM 620, “Time Limited Food Assistance” (ages, deferrals, countable months, 36-month period), https://mdhhs-pres-prod.michigan.gov/olmweb/EXF/BP/Public/BEM/620.pdf
MDHHS, “Work Requirements for Food Assistance” (March 1, 2026 waiver list, ways to meet the rule, H.R. 1, Kent/Oakland/Livingston, phone), https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/assistance-programs/food/learn-more/work-requirements
Photo: Andrew Jameson, “Bay City Downtown Historic District Bay City MI A.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bay_City_Downtown_Historic_District_Bay_City_MI_A.jpg
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