The five-year farm bill makes its way through Congress, called the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024, covering a wide range of agricultural and food policies, from farm insurance to conservation programs. However, one of the critical points this year is the funding for the federal program that helps low-income people buy food.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP benefits), formerly known as food stamps, has become a partisan sticking point in the bill and there are no in-between spots where both Democrats and Republicans agree on every point.
The analysis by the Urban Institute, a research organization, found that SNAP benefits in 2023 did not cover the increase in the cost of food in 98% of U.S. counties. USA. Elaine Waxman, a senior researcher at the Urban Institute and author of the report, highlighted the vital importance of SNAP as the first line of defense against food insecurity.
SNAP Food Stamps: Falling Short Against Rising Inflation in the USA
SNAP’s monthly benefits are set based on a basic basket of goods known as the “budget food plan.” However, these guidelines have not been updated for decades until 2021, which led to a significant gap in SNAP benefits’ ability to cover the cost of moderately healthy meals.
After an adjustment in 2021, the benefits were adequate for the price of a moderate meal in about one in five U.S. counties. USA., but this improvement has regressed. Even after increases due to living costs, SNAP benefits are not enough to purchase meaningful meals in terms of health and nutrition.
The largest disparities are seen in rural counties with higher transportation and food costs, such as in Michigan, Idaho, and Massachusetts. The current House proposal calls for a freeze on SNAP benefits, which could worsen the current shortfall and widen the gap between food costs and SNAP benefits.
The debate in Congress is focused on the requirement to review SNAP benefits at least every five years, a measure that has generated conflicts due to the unexpected magnitude of the adjustment in 2021. These challenges reflect the complexity of addressing nutrition and food insecurity in a context of rising costs and changing needs of low-income households.
Are Republican Willing to “Slash” SNAP Benefits?
The 2018 bill would have come due in September 2023, along with many of the programs it funded, if not for the one-year extension approved by Congress. Lawmakers are currently in a race to pass a new farm bill before the new deadline, and Senate Democrats introduced their own version earlier this month. However, the ticking of the clock is not enough for Democrats to accept the House Republican proposal, which they claim crosses several red lines by cutting funding from key initiatives.
One of those red lines is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps feed low-income Americans. The Republican farm bill proposes cutting nearly $30 billion from SNAP benefits over the next decade, limiting future adjustments to keep pace with inflation and delegating eligibility decisions to private corporations, all at a time when the federal program is already struggling to keep 41 million people from going hungry with available resources.
“Every SNAP participant would receive less to buy groceries in future years under this proposal, the Congressional Budget Office projects, putting a healthy diet out of reach for millions of individuals and families with low incomes,” said Ty Jones Cox, Vice President for Food Assistance at the Center on Budget and Food Priorities.
Maximum SNAP Allotments in 2024
Despite inflationary issues and the Republican bill that could cut funding to the SNAP benefits program, there are no expected reductions in the maximum amounts that a family can qualify for in 2024, as listed below:
- 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
