Food stamp benefits to permanently expand by over 25% in October, USDA announces
Needy families will get a permanent boost to their food stamps benefits in October under an expansion of the program announced Monday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will increase benefits for about 42 million program participants by more than 25% after finishing a review that determined existing benefits are too low to pay for a healthy diet.
The increase kicks in on Oct. 1, when beneficiaries in what is officially known as the SNAP program will receive an average bump of about $36.24 per month, the agency announced Monday.
In the months leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average monthly benefit was hovering around $121 per person, according to the Agriculture Department. That soared in 2020 and 2021, as Congress passed spending measures meant to aid in the pandemic recovery.
Those benefits expansions were temporary measures, but the increase announced Monday is a permanent adjustment.
Benefits will increase after a review of what the USDA calls the Thrifty Food Plan. Congress directed the review in its 2018 Farm Bill, and President Joe Biden called for an expansion of benefits in an executive order signed shortly after taking office.
It was last updated in 2006.
“A modernized Thrifty Food Plan is more than a commitment to good nutrition – it’s an investment in our nation’s health, economy, and security,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a prepared statement. “Ensuring low-income families have access to a healthy diet helps prevent disease, supports children in the classroom, reduces health care costs, and more. And the additional money families will spend on groceries helps grow the food economy, creating thousands of new jobs along the way.”
Current food prices, the American diet, dietary guidance and nutrition in food items were considered in the review.
The cost of healthy foods was the most frequently cited barrier for SNAP participants to eat a healthy diet, according to an Agriculture department study.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden administration boosts food stamp benefits by 25% in October
