Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that were raised at the start of the COVID-19 crisis are slated to return to pre-pandemic levels on April 15, barring the possibility of another extension.
For many, the potential change comes at yet another precarious time as food prices continue to climb across the country, with supply chain issues continuing to fuel the trend, Fox 11 reported.
“So people who were getting potentially a minimum of 16 dollars ended up getting about 235 dollars, in that range,” St. Joseph Food Program Executive Director Monica Clare told Fox 11. “So that made a huge difference to their budget.”
Clare said it’s almost a given her job will become more difficult if the government doesn’t extend SNAP benefits.
“Things that we used to be able to get in a reasonable amount of time, we’re really having to plan further in advance for,” Clare said.
With beefed up SNAP benefits, the need for food pantries dwindled, Fox 11 reported.
“And obviously with that difference, some of them didn’t have to come to the pantry anymore,” Clare said.
Father Carr’s Place 2B Executive Director John Nieman has also noticed the differences. He told Fox 11 that in January 2021, the facility served 754 households. During the same time this year, 472 households relied on Father Carr’s.
“We’ve been seeing a decline over the last year, year and a half,” Nieman said. “And I think it has to do with the benefits, the SNAP benefits going up. But now because people are worried about SNAP and the number going down, we’ve had more applicants the last month here than before.”
Regardless of whether SNAP sees an emergency benefit extension, food pantries have expected the benefits to end at some point and are ready to adapt as necessary to provide their services to those who need them, Fox 11 reported.
“We thought that that was coming to an end December 31st originally, and it didn’t,” Clare said. “It’s been on our radar to plan for feeding those extra folks who haven’t had to come.”
