With Food Stamps Increasing, How Much Extra Money Can You Expect?

We’ll explain why you should expect more food stamp money and how much that increase could be.

What’s one of the biggest worries for families right now? Figuring out how to put food on the table in the middle of a pandemic. Not only do you have to look for work if you lost your job due to the coronavirus, but you also have to buy food for your family that seems to be getting more expensive each day.

One thing that can help during such challenging times is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. Known by many as food stamps, this program can give you funds on an EBT card each month to buy the groceries you need.

While SNAP does help many families, it has two significant drawbacks: First, some say the funds aren’t enough to buy healthy food right now. And second, there are plenty of people who cannot figure out how to get food stamps or what it takes to become eligible. Let’s address both of those concerns right now.

A Historic Increase In Food Stamps

SNAP is meant to help families in need buy healthy food. Unfortunately, it seemed to come up short for many years, which is why the USDA decided to re-evaluate its “Thrifty Food Plan (TFP)” to figure out how much a healthy diet costs.

After looking at the numbers, the USDA decided that SNAP benefits should increase so families could afford healthy foods like fish and red and orange vegetables, plus get more calories each day to avoid starvation and deprivation. In doing so, they announced the first boost in the purchasing power of SNAP benefits since 1975.

Beginning on October 1, 2021, almost all SNAP families should see more money on their EBT cards than usual. The increase is around 27 percent, which would mean that the average SNAP recipient could see $36 extra per month. That would equal almost $150 extra monthly for a family of four.

That’s the good news. Here’s the somewhat bad news: While the purchasing power of SNAP is increasing by 27 percent, pandemic-related 15 percent increases are ending at the same time in many states. These “Emergency Allotments” were tacked on to all household benefits in January 2021, but some states dropped them early, while others are ending them now.

In short, instead of seeing an average $36 increase per person, many SNAP households will see a smaller bump around $12 to $16.

If these changes seem confusing, don’t feel bad, as they certainly are since so many changes are taking place at once. Should you have any questions about your increase in food stamps, contact your local office for clarification.

How To Start Getting Food Stamps

Eligibility for SNAP is based on income and other factors. If you’re struggling to buy food, contact your local SNAP office to apply for these benefits. And although many find the SNAP application process confusing, you can get help with it by contacting organizations like mRelief, Feeding America, or Hunger Free America.