Grocery stamp recipients have just received the first substantial, permanent increase in monthly benefits in four decades, a change they and hunger experts agree to help overcome high food insecurity in Maine and provide better access to nutritious foods for those in need enable.
The largest single increase in the history of the federal nutritional supplement program comes at a critical time for the state, which has persistent problems with child hunger and food insecurity for generations. In almost every other state, more Mainers eat regularly than people who are food insecure.
In a change that began last Friday, October 1st, SNAP recipients will see an average increase of $ 36.24 per person per month, or $ 1.19 per day. Proponents say the increase is long overdue.
The previous benefit “wasn’t enough to make a living, especially when looking at households with rent or mortgages or childcare bills,” said Izzy Ostrowski, social change attorney at Portland-based social services agency Preble Street and director of Maine Hunger Initiative founded in 2008 to address the root causes of hunger in the community. “It’s great that it’s happening, but we need to push more investment in hunger and food insecurity.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reassessed its Thrifty Food Plan, the model diet that calculates food costs for a month and that forms the basis of SNAP benefits. With the resulting cost adjustment, the plan’s purchasing power has changed for the first time since 1975.
At the start of the pandemic, when people in Maine and across the country were dipping into record levels of food supplies, the USDA announced a 15 percent increase in benefits for SNAP households. All households receiving less than the peak power received an emergency allowance to bring them up to the maximum, which was around $ 768 per month for a family of five.
Hunger prevention advocates in Maine say that extra income has brought stability to many people they didn’t have before.
“We heard immediately from our partners that this is why they see a withdrawal in need. They even checked in to people they hadn’t seen in a while to make sure they were okay, ”said Kristen Miale, president of Good Shepherd Food Bank in Auburn. “They heard from people that they were food safe for the first time ever because their SNAP benefits were increased.”
This emergency funding was temporary. The new adjustments are not.
“It took a pandemic before SNAP was finally funded where it needed to be, ”said Miale.
SNAP helps feed more than 42 million Americans – 1 in 8 people – each month. Experts say the evidence is clear that the program increases food security, especially in households with children who were disproportionately starved during the pandemic.
The number of people participating in Maine’s nutritional supplement program rose steadily in the first few months of the pandemic, from over 167,000 in February 2020 to a high of nearly 177,000 in May. Just over 164,000 people were enrolled in the program as of August this year.
However, experts estimate that around 40 percent of people in Maine who suffer from food insecurity do not sign up for programs like SNAP. to qualify, because their income is too high but they still need help to get enough to eat.
A USDA report released last month shows that the overall rate of food insecurity in Maine fell from 13.6 percent of households between 2015 and 2017 to 11.4 percent between 2018 and 2020. However, this is above the national rate of 10.7 percent.
Maine has the fifth highest “very low food security” rate in the country, with 5.5 percent of Maine households – more than 31,000 – being more hungry, including regularly missing meals. Nationwide, 4.1 percent of households experience very low food security, according to the report.
Maine also has the highest child hunger rate in New England, with around 1 in 5 children suffering from food insecurity. Nationwide, the food insecurity rate for households with children rose from 13.6 percent in 2019 to 14.8 percent in 2020, according to the USDA.
Carolyn Silvius has an SSI disability and receives $ 234 each month through SNAP to help with groceries. She believes that SNAP needs to be increased so that people can afford healthy food. She created a recipe book years ago to extend the food she got through food stamps. Derek Davis / staff photographer
While the COVID-19 pandemic initially caused an acute hunger crisis, according to Miale, these new data from the USDA suggests forecast “catastrophic rates of food insecurity have been avoided in 2020 thanks to the expansion of SNAP and school nutrition programming.”
The state P-EBT and Summer P-EBT programs provided extra money for groceries to families with children who are receiving SNAP or who are eligible for free or discounted school meals to cover the meals their children have in school were missing.
The P-EBT monthly contingents distributed in the 2020/21 school year were dependent on the learning model of the student schools. Families with eligible children in a hybrid learning model received $ 59.68 per child each month. In completely remote counties, families were paid $ 119.35 per child. During the summer, families received a one-time grant of $ 375 per child.
At the same time, the federal government has issued exemptions that enable schools to provide free meals to all students regardless of income. Maine, one of the first states to make school meals free for all, will continue this practice when the federal exemptions expire at the end of the school year.
“It really made a big impact and has been incredibly helpful to the families who need it and need this kind of support to keep their fridge and cupboard full,” said Anna Korsen, Advocacy Director of Full Plates Full Potential. a nationwide non-profit organization that combats food insecurity in childhood.
The temporary SNAP increases and EBT allocations during the pandemic illustrate the effectiveness of addressing food insecurity by giving more money for food directly to the people who need it most, experts say.
“This means some Mainers have been able to get more nutritious groceries from their local grocery stores or schools than from a community pantry,” Miale said. The hope is that the new changes will continue to make this possible.
A ‘GAME CHANGER’ FOR FAMILIES
Rockland’s Tim Keefe knows all too well how much SNAP can help when money is tight on groceries.
In all of his years working alone and raising two children, Keefe never needed food stamps. But when he injured himself six years ago while building a snowplow, he quickly found himself without money, without a home and without food.
Keefe said he had a brutal winter living “like a caveman” in a tent in the woods, catching squirrels to cook over a campfire, and hitchhiking 30 miles to a food bench. He went without food for days and lost so much weight that he made seven new notches in his belt.
He tried to apply for SNAP benefits but was not eligible because he was under 50 and not medically authorized to work 20 hours a week or volunteer to qualify. The day he turned 50, he was in an office of the Health and Welfare Department applying for SNAP, a safety net that he says helped him while he was recovering from his injury , found an apartment and started a new job as a shipbuilder at Bath Iron Works.
“It was a turning point,” said Keefe of the $ 194 monthly SNAP benefit. “SNAP was a lifesaver. I was able to hitchhike 20 miles to get the food I knew I needed instead of just what a kind person donated. It gave me back control over my diet. “
But Keefe, now 54, was also frustrated with a system that, in his opinion, felt unnecessarily excluded for people who needed that safety net. As Congress debated the 2018 Farm Bill, which ultimately directed the USDA to reevaluate the Thrifty Food Plan, Keefe traveled to Washington to testify to help remove obstacles and increase SNAP benefits.
He no longer needs SNAP, but said he was glad the benefits were finally increasing, especially for families who often had to choose cheaper and less healthy foods to stretch their grocery budgets.
Portland’s Carolyn Silvius has an SSI disability and receives $ 234 each month through SNAP to help with food costs. She believes that SNAP needs to be increased so that people can afford healthy food. Derek Davis / staff photographer
Even as American eating habits and dietary guidelines changed and food costs rose over the past four decades, the Thrifty Meal Plan was only adjusted for inflation. For years, SNAP recipients and anti-hunger advocates argued that the plan underestimates the cost of nutritionally adequate nutrition. In the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress instructed the USDA to review the plan, taking into account factors such as cost and modern dietary guidelines.
“To make SNAP families successful, we need a thrifty food plan that supports current dietary recommendations with a budget,” said Stacy Dean, assistant secretary of state for food, nutrition and consumer services, when the updated plan was announced in August. “Too many of our American compatriots struggle to afford healthy meals. The revised plan is a step towards giving them the support they need to support their families. “
The re-evaluation concluded that the cost of a nutritious, convenient, and inexpensive diet was 21 percent higher than the benefit at the time.
The 2021 Thrifty Meal Plan now brings healthy foods within reach for families receiving SNAP, according to the USDA. A government study published last summer, before current benefit levels were in place, found that nearly 9 out of 10 SNAP participants said they faced obstacles to healthy eating, with healthy food cost being the most common obstacle were called.
Portland-based Carolyn Silvius receives $ 234 a month in SNAP benefits and said she has learned over the years how to get the healthy foods she needs by shopping at various stores and buying older, discounted items. While she has been able to expand her SNAP dollars to a month, she knows that most families haven’t.
“I understand that meal stamps are just a supplement and you expect to spend your income, but if you get SSI or (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) you will be left with nothing and bills for groceries after paying the rent to buy. That creates a problem, ”said Silvius, 74, who has a disability that is subject to social security contributions. “I hope the bumps provide you with enough nutrition to make ends meet.”
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source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/10/03/maine-food-stamp-recipients-see-first-major-benefits-boost-in-four-decades/
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