Recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program across the United States will be seeing less beefier benefits starting Wednesday.
The decreased benefits from SNAP are the result of the program's Emergency Allotments ending, which were originally enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Emergency Allotments allowed all SNAP recipients to receive up to an additional $95 in benefits to buy food or an additional benefit valued up to the maximum benefit for their household size, depending on which was greater, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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A total of 18 states have already ended Emergency Allotments, with March 1 marking the end of Emergency Allotments for all 50 states. Prior to March 1, North Dakota, Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, Florida, Nebraska, South Dakota, Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi all ended Emergency Allotments in 2021; Iowa, Wyoming, Kentucky, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and Alaska ended Emergency Allotments in 2022; and most recently, South Carolina ended the allotments in January 2023.
With SNAP ending Emergency Allotments nationwide on Wednesday, the average SNAP recipient will receive $90 less per month. However, some households with higher incomes could see their benefits go down by $250 per month, according to a report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
To help minimize the financial dent caused by the loss of Emergency Allotments, SNAP recipients should check their state agency that manages SNAP distributions and make sure their records are up to date. The recipient should then take any and all deductions they are permitted to, such as deducting recurring medical costs that go over $35 every month due to having a disabled person in the home who is at least 60 years old, according to Newsbreak.
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Additionally, SNAP recipients should research any programs that their state is considering regarding their own SNAP allotments. In the state of New Jersey, SNAP recipients will get an additional $95 in food assistance benefits over the federal minimum of $23 per month.
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic began almost three years ago, and since then, several financial benefits enacted in response to the pandemic have ended. Some tax advisers, for example, have warned that people's tax refunds will be smaller this year due to adjustments made to remove benefits implemented in response to the pandemic.