More than 38 million people in the United States suffer from food insecurity, according to a 2020 survey, and rural areas have a higher prevalence of food insecurity compared to urban areas. The main factors contributing to this predicament are social.
Food insecurity is associated with a number of negative health outcomes, such as malnutrition, obesity and chronic diseases that have long-term effects, for most of the lives of individuals affected by it.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits) is one of the tools that the federal government, states and counties have to try to curb the increase in food insecurity: in 2021, at the height of the pandemic, SNAP benefits helped more than 41 million people across the United States.
This program provides monthly benefits to low-income families in all 50 states and tribal jurisdictions, as well as in other territories attached to the United States such as Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
How a New Bill Will Cut SNAP Benefits
One of the key proposals of the most controversial project that would alter SNAP benefits is the freezing of the federal cost of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which is the basis on which SNAP benefits are calculated. If this is approved, the inflation adjustments that are essential so that beneficiaries do not lose purchasing power every year would no longer be applied.
According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), this measure would result in an estimated $30 billion cut in SNAP over the next decade, affecting all program beneficiaries.
In the long run, the cuts would reduce the adequacy of SNAP benefits to inflation, and millions could run out of their money. Or, if benefits are not denied to a part of the recipients, the reduction of the amount of money awarded to them month by month could be considered.
This would force the USDA to carry out periodic, expensive evaluations with a predetermined result: the cost of a healthy diet would remain unchanged, ignoring scientific evidence that may indicate otherwise.
Consequences of Freezing the Thrifty Food Plan
The proposal by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson would return SNAP to the situation before 2021, when the cost of TFP was only adjusted for inflation, making the benefits increasingly inadequate.
This forced the USDA to assume that people were buying an extremely unrealistic food basket to justify that SNAP benefits were nutritionally adequate. With such insufficient benefits, millions of low-income households were struggling to meet their food needs.
The Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) represents the USDA’s estimated minimum cost for a frugal but nutritious diet. For 50 years, the cost of TFP was adjusted only according to inflation, without considering other factors such as changes in dietary guidelines and food consumption patterns. This resulted in increasingly inadequate SNAP benefits.
A provision in the bipartisan 2018 farm bill ordered the USDA to consider factors other than inflation and reassess the TFP by 2022. In 2021, the USDA implemented a revised TFP, increasing the maximum SNAP benefits by 21%, which represented an increase of $1.40 per person per day, reaching $6.20 per person per day in 2024.
The Maximum SNAP Benefits Allotments in 2024
There are a number of factors that influence whether a family or a beneficiary receives the maximum possible monthly SNAP benefits. Gross household income will be considered, including wages, unemployment benefits, social assistance and other sources of income.
Resources such as savings, investments and vehicles, as well as housing situation, can alter the amount for which you are eligible. Rent, utilities, child support and other expenses are also considered to determine eligibility. Households with higher expenses are generally eligible for higher benefits.
Finally, the size of the household, that is, how many people make it up, is the last of the items that are considered. According to the number of people making up the family group, these are the maximum in 2024:
- Household size 1: $291
- Household size 2: $535
- Household size 3: $766
- Household size 4: $973
- Household size 5: $1,155
- Household size 6: $1,386
- Household size 7: $1,532
- Household size 8: $1,751
- Each additional person: $219
