Food Stamp Benefits To Increase By More Than 25% In October

[appalachiablue]

Source: AP News

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food aid available to needy families — the largest single increase in the program’s history.

Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps — officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP — will rise more than 25 percent above pre-pandemic levels. The increased assistance will be available indefinitely to all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries.

The increase coincides with the end of a 15 percent boost in SNAP benefits that was ordered as a pandemic protection measure. That benefit expires at the end of September. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that with the change, the U.S. “will do a better job of providing healthy food for low-income families.”

The aid boost is being packaged a major revision to the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, which estimates the cost to purchase groceries for a family of four and guides the way the government calculates benefits. In practical terms, the average monthly per-person benefits for qualified recipients will rise from $121 to $157...

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-f51d32a6830fe74b8bc06fcf99c57f71

[cstanleytech]

1. I hope he can do something about those on SSI and SSDI as alot of people on those are struggling as

well.
Then if they try to work they are punished either by losing it because they are now "deemed" to be able to work or because after they earn x amount after which their checks are gradually reduced and those checks for some are essentially poverty level for the most part already.

[OldBaldy1701E]

5. Yep

Assuming the person got SSDI in the first place. Which is all but impossible these days. But hey... weeding out the 'problems', right?

[cstanleytech]

6. Ya, the plan for Republicans when it comes to the poor, elderly and disabled is to make them suffer

and die.

[chocolatpi]

2. Unfortunately, it is those

corporation owned large grocery chains that profit from the increase. It may not "trickle down" to improvement in the diets or nourishment of food. Every time I shop it amazes me at the increases in prices of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Being on a fixed income myself, I know the dread of having to keep pace with inflation. I am one of the lucky ones with an income.

[Harker]

3. +3.14592... n/t

[tavernier]

4. I'm still waiting for Social Security to catch up to where it should be

before Congress gutted it.