Today Explained: COVID-19 Era Expanded SNAP Benefits End

Need2Know Headlines

It's time now for today explain this is where we break down some of the stories, stories in the news, how we got here and where we go next today the grocery budgets for millions of low income people in the U. S. Will be substantially shrinking at the same time that the price of food is soaring during the pandemic. The federal government increased snap benefits. This is the supplemental nutrition assistance program which is the program formerly known as food stamps. In January annually annual grocery prices jumped 11.3%. Starting in March. All snap recipients are gonna be getting at least $95 dollar $95 budget cuts. Now according to an analysis by the nonpartisan center on budget and policy priorities, some households could see a reduction of as much as $250 or more. So what's happening here back in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Federal lawmakers passed the families first coronavirus response act. Now it boosted snap benefits at a time when millions of people lost their jobs because of the pandemic. These benefits are expiring because in part President Joe Biden is scheduled to declare an end to the pandemic emergency. Older Americans will be really hard hit by this change because of a separate policy change designed to offset the effects of inflation. Senior citizens in the US recently got an 8.7% cost of living adjustment from social security and because all income is taken into account when calculating snap benefits. Some seniors already saw their benefits fall and now some of them will see their food budget shrink even further. 18 states already cut extra benefits. But now this wave is hitting the rest of the U. S. In March. To give you a sense of the scale of this change, USDA data shows in november 2020 to about 42 million people were getting snap benefits.