Iowa to spend millions kicking families off food stamps. More states may follow. [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/04/16/iowa-snap-restrictions-food-stamps/

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TAMA, Iowa — As an icy prairie wind slapped down on the empty town, Lisa Spitler pulled on winter gloves, grabbed a clipboard and started walking toward the cars idling outside the fire station. In two hours, a mobile food pantry would begin a free food distribution. The line of early arrivals already stretched a half-mile to where it dead-ends in this town of 3,000 residents east of Des Moines.

The outreach director for several of the region’s food banks, Spitler’s job was to connect hungry families with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal government’s most effective food assistance pipeline. She covered 28 counties across Iowa’s northeast corner. Spitler was there to see if SNAP could help, offering herself as a guide through the maze of bureaucratic forms and eligibility requirements.

“A household of one?” she asked the driver of a truck in Tama. She pointed to a figure on her clipboard. “Gross monthly income above or below $1,813?”

But even as she stopped at each vehicle to chat, she knew that it was about to become more difficult for Iowans to access the help.

The state legislature, with the support of the Republican supermajority, was poised to approve some of the nation’s harshest restrictions on SNAP. They include asset tests and new eligibility guidelines. By the state’s own estimate, Iowa will need to spend nearly $18 million in administrative costs during the first three years — to take in less federal money. The bill’s backers argue the steps would save the state money long term and cut down on “SNAP fraud.”

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