SNAP Benefits Set to Drop in March

DULUTH, Minn. – The extra money from pandemic emergency funding that was going into Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits will expire this March.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will sunset for all states Wednesday, but 18 states have already ended the pandemic funding program.

The 2023 farm bill in Congress could be one way SNAP benefits are bolstered again, if lawmakers choose to add more funding for the program.

Those who may be hit the hardest from this change could be the food shelves and food banks, and the people who rely on them.
It can also affect local farmers whose produce can be bought by those using the benefits.

“An individual that might have been seeing 90 bucks maximum a month in food SNAP benefits is maybe going down to 30 to 40 dollars a month. So, that is a massive hit and I think everybody has sort of been waiting in the food shelf world, in the food bank world for this tidal wave to sort of finally crest,” CHUM Distributive Services Director, Scott Van Daele says.

Up to 41 million Americans use SNAP benefits to put food on their tables.