Originally published on 2 February 2023. Kept as written; the law it describes may have moved since.
Congress quietly announced that pandemic package SNAP benefits are coming to an end
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides more than 20 million households with a monthly allowance for food
- The first pandemic relief law passed in 2020 allowed SNAP recipients to receive the maximum benefit for the number of people in a household, which is $740
- This extra benefit is set to end in March, affecting around 16 million households, who will see their benefit reduced by $82
Why You Should Care
Well, the government has decided the pandemic is over! With inflation and unemployment rising, many are questioning the decision to cut back on a program that helped so many food insecure people.
On top of the still lingering question of whether or not a recession is coming… families are finding themselves at a loss as they grapple with this news. The real kicker… many have reported they were not warned of this news. In fact, a majority of those using this pandemic benefit have found out about its soon to be cut off through the news.
While it certainly seems some of us are moving on… this pushes us to question who we’re leaving behind.