SNAP acts as a safety net for low-income families to acquire healthy food in times of need.
WASHINGTON — The back of the federal food stamp program that was followed as part of the COVID-19 pandemic will soon end in dozens of U. S. states. U. S.
About 40 million Americans get grocery assistance a month through the federal program, known as SNAP.
Pandemic-era SNAP benefits, also known as “emergency benefits,” were funded through the federal government like normal SNAP benefits and given to Americans and low-income families to use in retail stores to buy food.
A visitor buys eggs at a supermarket on January 8, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo via I RYU/VCG Getty Images)
Since the beginning of the pandemic, many families have earned another $95 or more per month on most of their normal SNAP benefit. But those extra benefits will soon end next month for citizens of 32 states.
Here’s what you want to know:
SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, calculates the amount of benefits earned based on the number of family members and source of net monthly income minus 30%. The percentage is based on the amount the government expects families receiving benefits to spend on their necessities. net source of income.
Families with no net source of income get the maximum benefit from SNAP.
For example, if a circle of 3 family members did not have a source of income, they would get the maximum benefits of $740 per month. If the same circle of family members had a monthly net income source of $600, they would get the maximum advantage ($740) minus 30% of their net source of income (30% of $600 = $180), or $560 per month.
However, the U. S. Department of Agriculture has not been able to do so. The U. S. government began offering higher monthly benefits in April 2020 in response to the pandemic-like rise in unemployment. SNAP COVID additional benefits are the difference between a family’s overall benefit amount and the maximum amount for your family. size, with a minimum amount of at least an additional $95 per month.
These additional invoices were placed on EBT cards every month.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 passed by Congress and signed into law in December ended emergency appropriations after February 2023 to USDA.
A warning sign to consumers about SNAP food stamps is displayed at a Brooklyn grocery store on Dec. 5, 2019, in New York City. (Photo by Scott Heins/Getty Images)
In 17 states, the emergency has ended: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.
For those in South Carolina, which ends emergency benefits after January 2023, SNAP benefits will return to general amounts starting in February, according to the USDA.
In the remaining 32 states, as well as DC, Guam and the U. S. Virgin Islands, Guam are in the U. S. Virgin Islands. In the U. S. , COVID-era SNAP benefits will return to general amounts starting in March 2023.
This tale brought from Cincinnati.