Jul 19, 2024 Current Resources

What To Do Now That Extra SNAP Benefits Have Ended

(TheDailyCurrents.com) – The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) extra benefits that most Americans enjoyed during the pandemic-era have ended. Most American households will now be forced to look for alternative ways to compensate for the reduced funding.

The reduced funding for SNAP comes during a difficult time, with people already coping with a 6% increase in the inflation rate from the previous year. This means you must adjust your income to cater to the high cost of living.

What Are Some of the Changes?

In 2020, as the pandemic spread, Congress enacted the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to temporarily improve SNAP benefits to help low-income households as most people lost their jobs. However, the extra benefits expire in many states, and from 2023, you will only get the standard payments on your Electronic Benefits Transfer Card (EBT) in the first half of a month. You will not receive the second payment later in the month, like during the pandemic.

How Much Did Recipients Lose?

The Center on Budget and Policy Priority (CBPP) revealed that 32 states, including the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, were still paying extra SNAP benefits. Households in such states will now receive $95 less in a month from March 2023. Some families that used to get low benefits under SNAP rules because of their high or modest income will now receive $250 less monthly.

The agency generally revealed that the average person would get $90 monthly less in SNAP benefits. As such, given the limited amount of primary SNAP benefits and the increase in food prices, reducing the extra benefits will increase food insecurity for most households and individuals.

How To Make Up for The Drop in SNAP Benefits

Although the federal government eliminated the extra SNAP benefits, you will still receive the regular SNAP payments based on your income and the expenses the program requires. You can offset the drop in SNAP benefits through the following ways.

Check Your Eligibility Status

Most Americans may be eligible for SNAP benefits, but they may not know. SNAP eligibility is almost similar to federal income tax; you can deduct expenses to determine how much you’ll get. With the reduced extra SNAP benefits, you should check and see if your regular amount is correct. But you cannot get more benefits if you already get the maximum benefits.

You can deduct expenses such as medical costs, legally owed child support payments, housing, child care, and disability care costs. Reevaluating and accounting for these costs, primarily because of inflation, may make a difference in the amount you receive.

Find Other Programs to Help

Other programs can help you compensate for the reduced SNAP payments; For example, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) supplements the food budget for low-income pregnant women and women with children. You automatically qualify for WIC if you receive SNAP benefits. Seniors’ meal programs such as the Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition program can supplement your SNAP payments by providing coupons for fresh products at farmers’ markets.

You can also find non-profit organizations like Double Up Food Bucks, which increases the value of EBT payments when you buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Check out Feeding America, a nationwide network of food pantries and banks that can help you find a local food bank. In addition, most food banks were already prepared for the drop in SNAP benefits and had increased their food supplies.

Most schools offered free meals to children during the pandemic, but that ended in most states. However, children from SNAP households are eligible for free meals in schools. You can always check with your children’s school for more details.

Don’t Spend All of Your SNAP Benefits

Some people may budget their payments well enough and have extra funds left. If you have money left after spending your SNAP payments, you can always save it in your EBT card and use it for the following month. The drop in extra SNAP benefits means you should adjust your budget to cater to your daily food needs.