![]() ![]() She said it’s going to feel more like an $8 increase, rather than a $36 increase. “And so this 25% increase is not going to be experienced as a 25% increase by most families.” “When those fade out, people’s money from SNAP benefits is going to go down,” Butcher said. The COVID-19 relief bill passed last year raised the maximum benefit by 15% ( about a $28 monthly increase per person). On top of that, the 25% raise will go into effect after the temporary SNAP increases associated with the pandemic expire in September. “Rising food prices undermine the ability of families who are earning low wages - or are in periods of temporary hardship - to be able to afford adequate nutrition,” Hall said. ![]() Hall said that Feeding America is very concerned about rapid price increases. Food prices rose 0.7% between June and July, according to the consumer price index. “We believe that continued improvement to SNAP is critical to achieving food security for the nation,” Hall said.Ĭomplicating matters, though, inflation has made groceries more expensive in recent months. ![]() The updated plan takes more convenient options into account, even if they cost more. But while those cost less per serving than canned beans, they take more preparation time. “The way that families prepare food and the type of nutrition they’re seeking is very different today than it was in 1975,” Hall said.įor example, he said the previous calculation assumed that families were purchasing dried beans. The bill also requires the USDA to reevaluate the Thrifty Food Plan every five years. “Those families then turn to America’s food banks to close the gap,” he said.īased on an order in the bipartisan 2018 farm bill, the USDA conducted a review of the Thrifty Food Plan and updated its guidelines, taking into consideration current food prices, what Americans usually eat, and updated dietary and nutritional guidance. While SNAP is “America’s frontline defense against hunger,” Hall said, many families who rely on the program to meet their nutritional needs run out of benefits in the second or third week of the month. The administration’s decision to reevaluate the plan is “long overdue,” said Vince Hall, the interim chief government relations officer at Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks. The plan, which was introduced in 1975, is aimed at meeting the nutritional needs of someone eating “a healthy, cost-conscious diet,” according to the USDA. The country’s current SNAP benefits were based on the Agriculture Department’s low-cost Thrifty Food Plan, which represents the cost to purchase groceries for a family of four. ![]() It would reduce food insecurity and allow recipients to spend more time cooking and preparing meals. The improved benefit would lead to the purchase of more nutritious foods and fewer fast food meals, their research showed. Butcher and co-author Patricia Anderson found it would push up monthly spending on food by $19.48 per SNAP recipient. To be eligible for SNAP benefits, households generally must have a gross income below 130% of the federal poverty line.īutcher, who’s also an economics professor at Wellesley College, has conducted research simulating the effects of a $30 increase. That population has shrunk slightly from its pandemic peak to 42.1 million in May 2021, the latest data available. Between February and June of 2020, the number of SNAP recipients rose from 36.8 million to 43 million - a roughly 6 million increase. The COVID-19 pandemic, which fueled record high unemployment rates last year, also increased the need for food stamps. “It’s going to lead to increased consumption of good food: more fruits, more grains, more fish, more poultry - things like that.” I’m so happy we’re investing in families and children in this way,” said Kristin Butcher, the director of the Center on Children and Families at the Brookings Institution. Those benefits will rise more than 25% above pre-pandemic levels, from $121 to $157 a month for the average recipient. The Joe Biden administration has approved the largest boost in benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. People who receive food stamps will see a permanent increase beginning in October. ![]()
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