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 change proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture would stop 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 to abuse the system.

There were 439 children and adults in Butler County as recently as June who qualified for TANF, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.

Available data does not detail which of the 439 are getting SNAP benefits, or how many would otherwise qualify for SNAP benefits.

There were 14,870 SNAP eligible people in Butler County in June.

Julie Hopp, director of curriculum, instruction and professional development for the Butler Area School District, attempted to identify how many students receiving free lunches are doing so because of SNAP benefits. She was unable to provide an accurate figure, she said, because relevant staff members were out last week.

About 44 percent of Butler students receive free and reduced lunches for various reasons, including SNAP eligibility, according to Kara Droney, a spokeswoman for the district.

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

Kim Thomas, a teacher at McQuistion Elementary School, was concerned to hear that any local students might lose free school lunches. Thomas founded the Kids Weekend Backpack Program, an effort that sends about 360 elementary school students home with a backpack full of food on Fridays during the school year.

“I can't imagine any young students not being able to eat during lunch,” Thomas said.

She said that depending on the scope, the change might affect their program's numbers if more families are losing food stamp coverage. They already spend about $5,000 on food a month.

“Behaviorwise, I don't know what that's going to do when the kids aren't getting food at home either,” Thomas said.

Meghan Lucas, a Center Township Elementary teacher who helps with fundraising for the backpack program, sounded more optimistic than Thomas.

She predicted the number of students who wouldn't otherwise qualify for free or reduced school lunches likely is low.

Both Emily Brittain Elementary and McQuistion Elementary schools already offer universal free lunches to students due to high poverty rates. Lucas suspected that if any Butler students are affected, there's still a high chance they would be students at those schools.

Still, she said that any children going without food is a big problem.

“As a teacher, a top priority is making sure the children are getting fed, in whatever form that takes,” Lucas said. “These kids have no control over an irresponsible adult who isn't putting food on the table.”