James Murphy has spent a lot of time looking for a job—“in retail, manufacturing, anything”—but always ends up moving from gig to gig, unable to find something steady. He can’t afford permanent housing, so for months, he has slept outside or at a Brooklyn men’s shelter. “SNAP is my livelihood until I find a job,” he said, adding that he’s worked since he was 15 years old. “I grew up with food stamps. Now, I’m getting scared.”

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is part of the federal food safety net that helps low-income people and families buy groceries every month. It’s also a popular target when it comes to federal cuts: Last year, President Trump announced plans to tighten its eligibility requirements. Currently, “able-bodied” adults between the ages of 18 and 49 without dependents—a demographic called “ABAWDs” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—are restricted to three months of SNAP benefits in a 36-month period, unless they work at least 80 hours a month. But states have long been able to obtain waivers, and in its more than two decades on the books, every state except Delaware has sought one. But the Trump administration rule, slated to go into effect next month, will make it harder to do that, with significant implications for some of the country’s most needy SNAP recipients. In all, the rule will eliminate access for at least 700,000 Americans, cutting around 6.2 billion meals in the next decade.

Experts say the rule change will exacerbate hunger and do little to boost employment, as consensus on the efficacy of the program is well documented at this point. But in the context of the escalating coronavirus, the new policy will mean food-insecure Americans—from those like Murphy, who already depend on the fraying social safety net, to those now facing layoffs and struggling with health care costs—will face more barriers to food access exactly when they need it most.

The ABAWDs rule is among other cuts Trump has tried to impose on food safety benefits, but it’s the only one that has been finalized. After Congress rejected the new rule in the 2018 Farm Bill, the Trump administration bypassed the legislative process, enacting administrative changes that would cut certain unemployed SNAP applicants from the rolls. And although a coalition of attorneys general from 14 states, as well as New York City and Washington, D.C., is suing the Agriculture Department over the move, the rule was finalized in December and is likely to take effect.

The administration, in a familiar argument, claims that the restriction will incentivize people to find jobs. In a press release, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said, “We need everyone who can work, to work,” and that the USDA “is committed to providing SNAP benefits to those who truly need them, but it must also encourage participants to take proactive steps toward long-term self-sufficiency.”