Emergency allotment will end after February. (Photo: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging)
Many SNAP households will soon see a change in their benefit amounts. The emergency allotments implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic will end nationwide after February 2023 issuance.
SNAP provides food stamps to more than 41 million. Each month, they rely on these benefits to put food on the table. It is why it’s essential to understand what is happening to their benefits to planning for themselves and their families.
- Congress passed legislation in March 2020 allowing FNS to provide emergency allotments to all SNAP households to assist them through the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Congress passed another law at the end of December 2022 that ends EA nationwide after the February 2023 issuance.
- Some states have already ended issuing EA. Participants in these states have already returned to average benefit amounts without EA, so the new law does not affect them.
- In all other states and territories, the temporary benefit increase will end in February, with benefits returning to normal in March.
READ ALSO: What’s New with SNAP E&T this 2023?
The program works with all our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that SNAP participants know about the upcoming changes.
Moreover, SNAP households are directed to take advantage of any other FNS programs they may be eligible for to meet their nutritional needs. Qualified individuals can, for example, participate in SNAP and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC. WIC provides nutritious supplemental foods, a cash benefit for fruits and vegetables, nutrition education, and health and social services referrals. FNS also helps with school meals, summer meal programs, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, and other initiatives.
READ ALSO: South Carolina Food Bank Prepares for the End of SNAP
