Biden administration increases food stamps by 25%

[Sympthsical]

This story will easily get lost as the media focus on Afghanistan this week, but it's significant and should be highlighted. There are a lot of people going hungry in the country. It's the biggest increase in the program in history.

https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-9832ab299bd1a5953f305ec1ae2b8ea9

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families—the largest single increase in the program’s history.

Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps (officially known as the SNAP program) will rise more than 25 percent above pre-pandemic levels. The increased assistance will be available indefinitely to all 42 million SNAP beneficiaries.

The aid boost was first reported by The New York Times and the details were confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture. They will be formally announced Monday by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The aid boost is being packaged as a major revision of the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan. In concrete terms, the average monthly per-person benefits will rise from $121 to $157.

[Johnny2X2X]

1. This is a huge deal!

I have a good friend who's a fully disabled veteran who this means a lot to. The last 18 months have been the best for him in many years because of the increased food support and stimulus checks.

And extra $36 a month is the difference between a lot of people making it and not making it to the end of the month. People who live on SSI and food stamps, contrary to the image painted by some, are expert penny pinchers. They know where every dollar goes and usually have detailed budgets. This little bit is huge for many, seems like a small amount to you or I, but to people counting every last penny it gives them a little room to breathe.

[NurseJackie]

2. Room to breathe ...

... that's good.

[Sympthsical]

5. That's an extra week of food for some people

I looked up California and found:

As of October 1, 2019, the maximum monthly allotment for a one-person household in California is $194, for a two-person household $355, for a three-person household is $509, for a four-person household is $646

We tend to be pretty frugal with groceries. I think we both got it from our parents, as we both grew up poor working class. My mom was that woman with the five inch thick coupon book you dreaded getting behind at check out. Now, every Wednesday, I make a list in the Safeway app looking at what's on sale (we have so much cheese this month, lol - It was $1.47 for Lucerne, then cream cheese was 3 for $5). We go there and Costco weekly, then TJ's maybe once a month. Between the two of us, I want to say we spend about $250-300 a month. And that's with things like a $14 bag of almonds and $4 a loaf keto bread I use.

We could do a lot of damage with another $89. Two dozen eggs are $4 at Costco. You can get a loaf of bread at Safeway for $2 or less. Mix in places like Trader Joe's with 99 cent pasta bags, etc.

Of course, this all assumes you're not living in a food desert, which is a whole other problem for many of the poor.

[Haggard Celine]

6. I need my food stamps, too.

If it weren't for food stamps, I would have a very hard time finding the money for my food. I'd definitely have to go hungry a lot of the time. I, too, have appreciated the increase we've gotten over the past year or so, and this increase will help me make it until the end of the month without digging into my meager amount of cash. Joe Biden is the best President in my lifetime, hands down!

[New Breed Leader]

3. What a blessing this will be

I'm grateful.

[bullwinkle428]

4. I was very heartened to hear this news on NPR this morning.

[Beastly Boy]

7. Beside the obvious health and humanitarian benefits, food stamps are an effective economic stimulus.

But SNAP also serves as an automatic stabilizer for the economy. For example, during an economic downturn, when unemployment increases and wages fall, more individuals become eligible for SNAP and enroll in the program. As SNAP participants spend this increased Federal assistance, income is generated for those involved in producing, transporting, and marketing the food and other goods purchased by SNAP recipients. The impact of this increased spending by SNAP households “multiplies” throughout the economy as the businesses supplying the food and other goods—and their employees—have additional funds to make purchases of their own. This multiplier effect on the economy may extend well beyond the initial money provided to SNAP participants.

Although the multiplier theory is well known, the size of the multiplier from increased SNAP benefits is less clear. A recent ERS study examined the multiplier impact of a hypothetical $1 billion increase in SNAP benefits and found that this expansion of benefits during a slowing economy would increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by $1.54 billion and support 13,560 jobs, including nearly 500 agricultural jobs (farming, forestry, fishing, and hunting). The expanded benefits would also boost income in the agriculture industries by $32 million.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/july/quantifying-the-impact-of-snap-benefits-on-the-us-economy-and-jobs/

By some estimates, it's the most effective government program to stimulating the economy. Far more effective than corporate tax breaks.

[Claire Oh Nette]

8. This is huge.

Along with the child tax credit payments, Biden is moving children and families out of poverty and food insecurity. Two months from now when Americans have forgotten the Afghanistan debacle (I guess every few generations need a Viet Nam), those checks and bigger grocery carts will leave fewer Americans going to bed on an empty stomach.

Afghanistan is Bush/Cheney production. Obama nailed Bin Laden, and the mission was over, but the neo-cons and the Unocal barons wanted their pipeline, so we "surged" troops. We can no more force western democracy on the Islamic Afghanis than we could force it on the Republic of Vietnam. This was always going to be the ending.

TFG's "deal" was surface veneer only. Had Biden honored the May 1 withdrawal, the end would be no different. In the end, it is Biden bringing our troops home. It is Biden working to fill the bellies of Americans.