Good news -- the Biden administration is set to announce the largest increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in the program's entire history.
Benefits under the program were set to drop by 15 percent next month when a temporary boost authorized by coronavirus relief legislation expires, but the Biden administration is planning to increase benefits by 25 percent.
Average benefits in October will go up by more than 25% from pre-pandemic levels for the 42 million people in the program, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity before Monday’s announcement.
The increase means that average monthly benefits will rise $36 per person from $121, according to the official. The New York Times reported the planned change earlier. The increase also means an approximate $20 billion cost increase per year for the program, Vilsack said.
“I think the pandemic sort of shocked people out of the belief that this is a program that was for some others, somebody else, I would never be involved in the SNAP program,” Vilsack said. “All the sudden we found families either in need of SNAP or in need of the food bank pantry system that never in a million years thought that they would be faced with that situation.”
Even at $157 per month, that's not a lot for even one adult to eat with. But it's better than nothing and it's better anything provided to the public before.
It's also not happening in a vacuum. You may recall that the Biden administration has already extended no-questions-asked universal free meals for students and their families through the end of the year and Democrats in Congress are close to making that permanent through a combined $4 trillion in infrastructure and social spending.
The two programs combined means a dramatic reduction in childhood hunger and a reduction for their parents too.
No one should have to worry about food.