WASHINGTON (CN) — Marking the largest benefit increase in the program's history, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a plan Monday to boost food stamp benefits roughly 25% above pre-pandemic levels.
“The resulting cost adjustment is the first time the purchasing power of the plan has changed since it was first introduced in 1975, reflecting notable shifts in the food marketplace and consumers’ circumstances over the past 45 years,” the agency wrote Wednesday announcing the news.
The permanent increase comes about as a result of President Joe Biden’s January 22 executive order that the USDA conduct a data-driven review of its Thrifty Food Plan to ensure the amount of benefits recipients receive are up-to-date and reflective of the latest science per the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill.
The additional benefits will be available to the more than 42 million recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beginning in October, the USDA said. On average the cost adjustment will raise per-person benefits in the program from $121 to $157 per month.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack called the modern updates an investment in the nation’s health Monday.
“Ensuring low-income families have access to a healthy diet helps prevent disease, supports children in the classroom, reduces health care costs, and more,” Vilsack said in a statement. “And the additional money families will spend on groceries helps grow the food economy, creating thousands of new jobs along the way.”
Jahana Hayes, a Democrat who chairs the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations expressed support of the revision last week, saying that it was a “critically important step towards ensuring that SNAP benefits adequately support a nutritious diet.”
Research also undergirds the need for more SNAP benefits, the Connecticut congresswoman emphasized.
“A recent study by the Urban Institute found that SNAP does not cover the cost of a low-income meal in 96 percent of U.S. counties, with both urban and rural counties among those with the highest disparities,” Hayes wrote in a letter to Vilsack. “Further, an analysis of USDA data found that SNAP households ate significantly less healthily in the last 10 days of their monthly benefit cycle, when they are most likely to run out of assistance; a number of studies have also shown that caloric intake for SNAP recipients decreases dramatically in the final days of their benefit cycle.”
The USDA’s reevaluation took into consideration the four factors identified in the Farm Bill: current food prices, the typical American's diet, dietary guidance and the nutritional value of foods. To get a sense of the current food prices, the review collected updated purchasing data from stores.
One major consideration in review, as indicated by the USDA, was making sure that it was possible for SNAP beneficiaries to eat healthy food. A study performed by the department earlier this year had indicated that almost 90% of SNAP participants were disenfranchised by the high cost of healthy foods. A lack of adequate SNAP assistance could force households to choose cheaper, less nutritious food or go hungry during the month.
“The reevaluation concluded that the cost of a nutritious, practical, cost effective diet is 21% higher than the current Thrifty Food Plan,” the USDA indicated Monday. “As a result, the average SNAP benefit — excluding additional funds provided as part of pandemic relief — will increase by $36.24 per person, per month, or $1.19 per day."
Stacy Dean, USDA’s deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, indicated Monday that this move marked a step in the right direction in the struggle of Americans on the program being able to afford healthy meals.
“To set SNAP families up for success, we need a Thrifty Food Plan that supports current dietary guidance on a budget,” she said Monday.
Biden has said since taking office that his administration would not let Americans go hungry and has advocated for reforms that ameliorate poverty and food-security issues made apparent in the Covid-19 pandemic.
His approach marks a notable departure from the Trump administration’s, wherein USDA officials declined to expand food benefits during the pandemic for families already receiving them last year. In the House and Senate, Republicans arguing against an increase claimed that it would disincentivize workers from finding steady employment. But a study by the National Employment Law Project and the Groundwork Collaborative has since found that argument lacking.
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