Green Bay Reporter

A rise in food stamp amounts scheduled to roll out in October is expected to serve as a significant aid to the residents of Marathon County. 

“The coronavirus pandemic has hit families across our state hard this past year,” Gov. Tony Evers tweeted last week. “We're working at the state level to combat food insecurity in our communities, and I'm glad to see the @WhiteHouse work on the federal level to expand food assistance.”

The Biden administration greenlighted a proposal to increase the amount of food stamps to $36/month per person, setting the assistance status to permanently available to all 42 million of its beneficiaries, including the nearly 14,000 Marathon County residents who were recipients of SNAP in the month of June.

With a 2019 analysis estimating a 9% poverty level in the county, the boost in food stamp assistance is intended to expand food options for recipients and their families. The analysis, estimating a population of approximately 135,000 people with a median household income of $62,633, presented a significant growth percentage of 5.19% increase from the previous year.

"Actually what we've noticed, it's about the same amount of people coming in," said Ann Chrudinsky, development director at the Wausau Salvation Army.

The expert explained that the number of people entering the food pantry initially decreased amid increasing concerns of potentially contracting COVID-19, but is now rising again and that an increase in SNAP benefits would help them fill the void that is often caused by a lack of resources.

"I think it'll give the people of Marathon County a lot more latitude in what they are able to purchase, and they could come in here and fill in with the other things they need," she said.