Millions to See SNAP Payment Decrease After February

Millions of Americans are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).SNAPAccording to a federal agency, payments will drop for ‘() after February.

Two factors drive the decline in payments, Food and Nutrition Service(FNS) stated in an Update In January.

FNS is a U.S. Department of Agriculture agency.

Firstly, the temporary increase to SNAP benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic—also known as emergency allotments—will end after the February 2023 payment.

According to the agency, most SNAP households received an additional payment of $95 through emergency allotments.

“All SNAP households have or will see a decrease to the SNAP benefits they receive when emergency allotments end. Some SNAP households already experienced that change; others will in February or March 2023,” FNS stated in the announcement.

The extra payments are now ending in 17 states: Alaska, Arizona. Arkansas. Florida. Georgia. Idaho. Indiana. Iowa. Kentucky. Mississippi. Missouri. Montana. Nebraska. North Dakota. South Dakota. Tennessee.

South Carolina’s SNAP households will see their emergency allotments cease after the January payment.

The remaining 32 states, Guam, Guam, as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands, will see the SNAP benefits amount return to their pre-pandemic levels.

A third factor that could lead to SNAP benefits being reduced is an increase in Social Security benefits.

Since Jan. 1, social security payments have increased due to significant increases in costs-of-living adjustment (COLA).

“Households that receive SNAP and Social Security benefits will see a decrease in their SNAP benefits as early as January 2023 because of a significant increase to their Social Security benefits to reflect the cost of living,” FNS.

However, SNAP households will still experience a net increase because the decreases in SNAP payments are smaller than the increases in Social Security benefits.

According to government data (PDFAs of October 2022 (22 million households or 42 million individuals) nearly 42 million people had registered for SNAP.

SNAP Costs Reach Record $119 Billion

According to USDA data, the SNAP cost increased to a record $119.5 Billion in 2022.

The SNAP cost rose from $60.3 billion in 2019, which was the year before the pandemic, up to an unprecedented $119.5 billion in 2022. The number of participants increased from 35.7million in 2019 to nearly 42 million by 2022.

Partially, the increased costs can be attributed to the higher monthly benefits during the pandemic. During the pandemic, additional money was offered by the states.

USDA data showed that in 2019, the average per-person monthly benefit was $129.83. It rose by 78 per cent to $230.88 by 2022.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported that the 2018 farm bill also increased SNAP maximum benefits by 21 per cent effective October 2021. The increase was to “accurately reflect the cost of a healthy diet,” The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has published.

The Center Square contributed to the report.