A “hunger slope” looms for millions of Americans, as 32 states are set to cut food stamp provisions starting in March.
The cuts will affect more than 30 million people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in those states, according to USDA data. Among the states where recipients face cuts are California and Texas, which have the most people on SNAP, at 5.1 million and 3.6 million recipients, respectively.
The cuts are due to the end of so-called emergency appropriations, which bolstered food stamp benefits at the start of the pandemic while Americans grappled with the massive disruption to the economy. While the U.S. is certainly on a more stable footing than it was in 2020, households are now grappling with rising food costs — groceries were 10% higher in December than a year earlier — which makes the timing of SNAP cuts particularly difficult, he says. experts.
“This massive cliff is coming to the vast majority of states, and people will lose on average about $82 in SNAP benefits per month,” said Elaine Follinger, director of SNAP at the Center for Nutrition Research and Action, an anti-hunger group. “This is an amazing number.”
This means that a family of four could see a reduction in monthly benefits by about $328 per month. The hardest hit, Follinger said, may be elderly Americans who receive the minimum monthly benefit. They could see their SNAP payments drop from $281 to as low as $23 per month.
Meanwhile, 18 states have already ended their emergency provisions early, with some pointing to a boost in the economy as the reason. In states like Georgia that cut off food aid, food banks have seen a rise increasing of demands Since June, when the benefits were cut, according to Pew Research.
The remaining 32 states that continued the extra aid are losing that extra money in March because of a provision in the 2023 blanket spending bill, signed in December, that directs emergency appropriations to the end of next month.
Over 40 million on food stamps
Despite the recovery in the economy, many Americans still suffer from food insecurity, experts say. Enrollment in food stamps remains high, with 42 million people receiving the benefit in October 2022, the latest data available, or 6% higher than in 2020, according to USDA data.
It might seem strange that the SNAP enrollment rate would be so high given that the unemployment rate in the country is at that The lowest level since 1969But many workers still can’t find full-time work or stand in lines for enough hours to pay bills, Follinger noted. Most people of working age who receive food stamps are employed, research has been found.
She added, “What’s sometimes missed in that conversation is the part where a lot of SNAP families work, but are often employed at lower pay levels — they’re not in family-supporting jobs, so they’re still SNAP-eligible.”
“prepare for it”
Critics say that because the food stamp cuts were only signed into law in December, neither states nor individuals had much time to prepare. One Colorado food stamp recipient tweeted that she had received “tips” from the state on how to cope, such as stocking up on non-perishable food while she still had a higher interest amount.
“We’re reducing your food stamps and we know you’re going to have a hard time surviving, so here are some tips that don’t say we didn’t do anything for you at all,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, food banks say they expect demand to increase as food aid cuts.
“People have to choose between putting food on the table and paying rent,” Erin Boling, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Food Bank, told CBS Colorado. “We’re seeing more people than ever before who need help with food assistance.”
“We’re preparing for that,” Bowling said of the food stamp cuts.
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