A federal rule change could affect as many as 400 Butler County residents who can collect food stamps because they qualify for a different federal program.

The rule change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture stops people who receive benefits through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program from automatically qualifying for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps. Estimates suggest the change would take three million people off food stamps nationwide.

Gov. Tom Wolf came out against the move, saying the change could cut as many as 200,000 Pennsylvanians off SNAP benefits, hurting needy families. The move’s advocates in the USDA and President Donald Trump’s administration said the automatic SNAP qualification is a loophole that allows high income earners abuse the system.

But local concerns are mounting over children affected by the rule change, as children in SNAP households get free school lunches.

This is a preview of an article that will appear in Sunday’s Butler Eagle. Subscribe online or in print to read local teachers’ reactions as to how the change could affect county students.