Starting this week, about half a million North Texans will be losing about $31 million each month in extra food benefits.
Some 3.6 million Texans who received extra help for food due to the covid pandemic will be affected by the withdrawal of support from the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
For almost three years, these people received extra support of at least $95 a month.
Households receiving SNAP will see a reduction of approximately $212 in their monthly support, according to information from the state.
Read here: Where to get free groceries this week in Dallas and Fort Worth
Valerie Hawthorne, director of government relations for the North Texas Food Bank, said her organization and others that help low-income households anticipate a major hit from the expiration of those benefits.
Hawthorne said service organizations are encouraging recipients to log into their account to see what their new aid level is.
“The saddest thing is that someone goes to the supermarket to buy their groceries with the amount they had… since the emergency happened in April 2020, and when they get to the checkout line they see that they have $300 or $400 less,” Hawthorne said.
“This is going to be a shock to those who didn’t know this was going to happen.”
Hawthorne says she is asking people to make sure they use other benefits to help themselves.
He advised beneficiaries to contact the Department of Health and Human Services to find out what tax deductions they are entitled to, such as seniors who get deductions for the purchase of non-prescription drugs, hearing aids, as well as child support payments and costs of shelter that exceeds 50% of the income.
Nationwide, about 41 million Americans will be affected by the withdrawal of additional support.
In December, Congress approved a spending plan that effectively determined the expiration of support due to the pandemic.
This reduction followed a rise in the cost of living in October after record inflation caused some families to spend hundreds of dollars more on food each month.
The end of other pandemic support comes on top of the expiration of a child tax credit and a universal free food benefit last year.
With the reduction in SNAP support, Texans will lose about $345 million in temporary aid.
North Texas Food Bank saw an increase of at least 17% in food insecurity last year, with families spending about $325 more on food each month due to inflation, according to the organization’s statistics.
As the temporary boost expires, House Republicans have moved to cut federal SNAP aid in negotiations to reduce the federal debt, including Texas lawmakers.
“We have to go back to the Clinton-era reforms of giving public assistance to work,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and chair of the House Budget Committee, in an interview with The Washington Post.
SNAP support is financed under the agricultural bill that will be submitted for reauthorization this year.
Said plan is the responsibility of the Agriculture Committee of the House of Representatives, which is made up of Texan Republican representatives Ronny Jackson and Mónica De La Cruz, as well as Democrats Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar.
Representatives Jackson and De La Cruz did not respond to requests for comment on the future of federal food support.
In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Casar said he will fight to broaden support for SNAP because Texas has one of the largest numbers of hungry children.
He even has a plan to endow it with resources.
“Billion dollar companies across Texas can chip in a little more so that Social Security is expanded and SNAP benefits continue,” Casar said.
“We just have to be willing, as elected officials, to defend our constituencies who are struggling against the big companies that are going to continue to do well.”
Crockett said in a statement to The News that SNAP is “a lifeline” for residents of his 30th Congressional District.
“The people of North Texas work very hard,” he said.
“Given our state’s low minimum wage, government programs like SNAP are imperative so people can get healthy and stay healthy. As our Secretary of Health and Human Services proudly says, food is medicine. Without SNAP, people go without food. I am proud to be a part of the Agriculture Committee and am working to have SNAP reauthorized in the best possible light in Farm Bill 2023.”
According to a survey conducted in February by ParentsTogether Action, a nonprofit organization with more than 3 million affiliated parents, 64% of those surveyed said their family is struggling to make ends meet because prices remain high. .
“We continue to take things away from families that parents need,” said Ailen Arreaza, executive director of ParentsTogether.
“What we hear over and over again from families is that they just want to be able to care for and support their children. They want to be able to support them and create a better future for them, and when we take away those benefits, we’re making it impossible for parents.”
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With information from Joseph Morton, Washington correspondent
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https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2023/03/01/about-half-million-north-texas-lose-extra-food-benefits/
