Increase in food stamps 2021: the advantages of obtaining a historic boost in October

The 42 million Americans who collect food stamps will receive an average 27% increase in their benefits starting Oct. 1, marking the biggest increase in the history of the safety net program.

The permanent increase was announced in August by the US Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, the official name for food stamps. Despite the rise, most households might see only a “modest” increase in benefits, as a temporary 15% SNAP benefit increase led by the Biden administration’s US bailout expired on September 30, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal think tank.

Still, most households will see an increase in their benefits starting this month, although the timing depends on their state’s payment schedule.

On average, each person will see their benefits increase by about $ 36 per month under the revised Thrifty Food plan, the agency said. A family of four now eligible for food stamps could receive aid of up to $ 835 per month in the 48 continental states, compared to a high of $ 680 for a family of four before the boost, according to the USDA.

In August, the Agriculture Department said it had reviewed the so-called Thrifty Food Plan, a budget developed in the 1960s to determine how much people should spend on “a nutritional diet adequate for short-term use. or emergency, “and sided with critics who said it did not reflect people’s nutritional needs and food preparation time.

For example, the Thrifty Food Plan assumed that food stamp recipients had about two hours a day to spend on food preparation. Real households receiving SNAP benefits spend an average of less than an hour a day preparing meals, CBPP found.

“You can’t convince me that people spend an hour and a half every day making food from scratch,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said when announcing the rise in vouchers. food this summer.

Under the previous Thrifty Food plan, an adult male had to be able to afford a nutritious diet on $ 45.60 per week, although that diet included almost two pounds of beans and about half a pound of beef per week.

When food stamps increase

Some recipients may not see the increase until November 1, although this depends on their state’s distribution method for the SNAP program. For example, Vermont distributes SNAP benefits on the first of every month, which means recipients in that state won’t see an increase until November 1.

But other states send batch payments throughout the month, such as Wisconsin, which bases the payment on the last digit of the recipient’s Social Security number. For people whose number ends in 0, for example, benefits arrive on the 2nd day of each month. For those who have 9 as the last digit, the aid is deposited on the 15th of the month. (See here for more on each state’s distribution method.)

The increase will help 1 in 8 Americans who now enjoy food stamps afford healthier diets, given rising food prices and changing nutritional guidelines over the years, said Vilsack in August.

Despite three rounds of federal relief checks, an increase in unemployment assistance and other stimulus efforts, millions of people in the United States continue to fight hunger. About 1 in 10 households experienced food insecurity last year, a rate unchanged from 2019. Without the increased stimulus and other aids, it is likely that hunger would have increased during the pandemic, according to defenders of the fight against hunger.