Expanded SNAP benefits have been crucial in helping many families swamped by the pandemic, providing additional funds to those families, and reducing poverty. However, the end of these benefits could cause financial and economic hardship for many families living in black and Latino neighborhoods. As the increased SNAP benefits expire, food banks will be swamped with hungry families who need assistance. The maximum monthly SNAP benefit is currently $194 per person; however, it was increased to $234 during the pandemic. This increase kept many families afloat and prevented them from falling below the poverty line. Without this extra assistance, those same families may be unable to make ends meet, pushing them into more profound financial hardship than before. This could exacerbate racial wage gaps within our society due to systemic racism, further collapsing our economy for black and Latino communities and other vulnerable populations. Congress needs to consider boosting household incomes with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP) to help combat the economic repercussions of the pandemic on Black and Latino communities.
Supplemental SNAP benefits, or the regular supplemental nutrition assistance provided to families and individuals in need, will help raise SNAP households to the monthly benefit level for their household size. The federal public health emergency has caused an increase in SNAP households and a decrease in their monthly EA-SNAP benefits. This means that many people may be eligible for Emergency Allotments (EA) during this national public health emergency. EA is a one-time payment that can be used on food items. It benefits that households with three or more people can receive the maximum SNAP amount under EA rules. Since March 2020, over 6 million people have received assistance through the program.
Known as “SNAP” (The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) is an assistance program that provides nutritional food benefits to help low-income households pay for groceries and other necessities. This benefits a large portion of the 7 million homes in the program, as most have children, and many have more than three people living in them. With the end of expanded COVID-19 SNAP benefits, households with more than three people will no longer receive the additional emergency allotments to help address temporary food needs. This will pressure already vulnerable communities struggling to make ends meet and may lead to increased food insecurity among those families.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress authorized emergency increases in SNAP benefits that have helped millions of people put food on their tables. The USDA expanded cash assistance, which increased the benefit amount for participating states and families who qualified for food assistance based on their size and income. This emergency allotment was part of the first coronavirus response act to help her family get more food assistance. However, now that Congress has not extended this emergency increase beyond June 2021, Black communities will be disproportionately impacted by this decision due to their higher rate of hunger and poverty.
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