Cambridge SNAP Rolls Fell 14% in a Year, With 13 Straight Monthly Declines, to the Lowest Level Since Early 2022
8,612 Cambridge residents received food assistance in August, down from 10,048 a year earlier. Every Cambridge ZIP code saw a drop.
Original reporting from public records by Watchman Report staff ·
The number of Cambridge residents receiving SNAP food assistance fell to 8,612 in August 2026, down from 10,048 in August 2025, a decline of about 14%, according to Watchman Report's analysis of state caseload figures published on the City of Cambridge's open data portal. The number of SNAP households, which the state calls cases, fell from 6,618 to 5,863, about 11%.
The count has dropped every month since July 2025, when it stood at 10,135: thirteen consecutive monthly declines. August's figure is the lowest since March 2022 (8,607) and about 17% below the peak in the data, 10,353 in May 2024.
Every Cambridge ZIP code with reported figures declined. The largest percentage drops were in 02141, East Cambridge (1,368 to 1,129, down 17.5%), and 02140, North Cambridge (2,641 to 2,212, down 16.2%). 02139, which includes Central Square and Cambridgeport and has the most recipients, fell from 4,157 to 3,619, down 12.9%. 02138 fell 11.7% and 02142 fell 16.4%.
The figures show how many people are enrolled, not why enrollment fell; the data do not say whether people left because their incomes rose, they moved, or they lost eligibility or did not complete paperwork. The state Department of Transitional Assistance, which runs SNAP in Massachusetts, publishes the underlying reports monthly.
Watchman Report queried the City of Cambridge dataset "SNAP, TAFDC and EAEDC Participation by Cambridge Zip Code 2017 - present" (last updated Oct. 14, 2026, with data through August 2026), which the city compiles from the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance's monthly Caseload by Zip Code reports. Totals are sums of the five Cambridge ZIP codes with unsuppressed SNAP counts (02138, 02139, 02140, 02141, 02142); ZIP 02238's SNAP counts are suppressed for privacy and excluded. Neighborhood descriptions of ZIP codes are approximate. All totals, changes and percentages are Watchman Report's calculations.
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