Recipients of food stamps must wait a long time for their next payment

Millions of low-income households who received their food coupons early in February due to the partial closure of the government are now faced with a new concern: extending these benefits until the next installment.

The challenge of creating this Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been benefiting food bank and pantry staff for a few days or even weeks more than usual an increase in demand from people running out of funds. In Hamilton County, Ohio, for example, Freestore Foodbank, which offers 450 seats, stores provisions while families try to make their last payment until March, said General Manager Kurt Reiber to WKRC, a subsidiary of CBS.

"Cash donations go as far as possible," he said. "One dollar equals three meals."

Long Payments Gap

Some 15 Million Low-Income Households – About 90 Percent of Those Receiving Federal Food Assistance – Will Make Their February SNAP Payment Last At Least 40 Days, According to a Recent Report from the Center on budgetary and political priorities. More than 4 million households could experience a benefit gap greater than 50 days, the left think tank also estimated.

Eligibility for SNAP is based on several factors, including the federal poverty line for gross income or pre-tax income. For a family of three, the poverty line used to calculate SNAP benefits during the 2019 fiscal year is $ 1,732 per month. Thus, 130% of the poverty line for a family of three amounts to $ 2,252 per month, or about $ 27,000 a year.

The average monthly allowance for a single person is 134 dollars, compared with 465 for a family of four.

The United States Department of Agriculture was able to pay the SNAP program beneficiaries earlier than planned with the aid of already approved funding. According to the USDA, states will be able to release March payments as usual under the government funding agreement for three weeks. Meanwhile, the White House and Congress will try to resolve the dispute on the request of President Donald Trump to create a border wall to the south. on ways to ensure that poor families have uninterrupted access to nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP, according to the agency. It also plans to grant waivers to increase the amount of the payment and plans to issue guidelines to public bodies in the near future.

"It is a great relief that the closure is over, and SNAP is now at a minimum until the end of March," CBS MoneyWatch, Dottie Rosenbaum, a SNAP expert at CPBB, told CBS MoneyWatch . Nevertheless, the measures taken by the administration during the closure "to protect people have now created this other problem".

A longer period between SNAP payments could weigh on community food programs already under pressure in "as many neighborhoods," said Rosenbaum.

Some 42 million Americans received SNAP benefits in 2017. Over 68% of participants lived in families with children and 44% in families with adults who worked, according to estimates by CBPP.

Food Insecurity Remains High

Recipients of food stamps already have difficulties with their grocery budget, according to a study last year from the University of Michigan. Urban Institute. The per-meal benefits of SNAP do not cover the cost of a "low-income meal" in 99% of US counties and the District of Columbia, reveals the study. The average cost for Americans was $ 2.36 per meal, which is 27% more than the maximum SNAP benefit per meal of $ 1.86.

Even before the closure and despite the economic recovery, food insecurity across the country was worse than before the financial crisis more than a decade ago. About 12% of Americans were considered "food-insecure" in 2017, up from 11.1% in 2007. That's about 15 million households, according to USDA data published in the United States. ;last year.

"We encourage these families to keep your benefits for as long as you can," Amina Tina Brohlin, spokesperson for High Plains Food Bank, CBS subsidiary, KDFA, in Amarillo, Texas told Amina Tina Brohlin. "Be very cautious in your budget and planning your meals, so you can extend your SNAP benefits throughout the month of February and possibly until March."