SNAP benefits return to pre-COVID levels in February

Supplemental food assistance benefits implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic will end nationwide in February, according to the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The big picture. After nearly three years, the amount of food assistance provided to low-income families to fight food insecurity through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will return to pre-pandemic levels.

• Emergency allocations allowed SNAP households to receive an additional $95 or more in benefits.

Details: Emergency appropriations have already been completed in 17 states, including Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

• In South Carolina, emergency allocations will expire after the January payment is received.
• Additional funding for the remaining 32 states, plus Washington, Guam and the US Virgin Islands, will end with the March allowance.

According to the numbers. More than 41 million Americans will receive SNAP benefits in 2022, USDA data show.

Zoom in. bring closer The change is sure to affect many Americans, including in Oklahoma, one of the states where supplemental benefits are expiring.

• “We know that these increased benefits have been important to many Oklahomans over the past three years, and that this change will affect some SNAP recipients more than others, especially our senior and disabled neighbors,” Chris Bernard, Hunger Free Oklahoma President/CEO of , The Hill said.
• “There’s no doubt that this will put a lot of demand on our charities across the state and a great need for Oklahomans to support their local food pantries and food banks.”

Go deeper. Iowa lawmakers have refused to severely limit SNAP-eligible foods