This week, millions of Americans will lose up to $258 in SNAP benefits for groceries. This comes as another pandemic-era benefit winds down. SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, was expanded in March of 2020 to allow all households to receive the maximum benefit instead of basing it on income.
Expansions are set to expire in March, which will affect around 16 million households among 30 states, including Illinois. Missouri's expansion ended in August of 2021.
Melanie Hager, St. Louis Area Foodbank's community resource manager, tells KMOX that when Missouri ended its benefits a year and a half ago, the foodbank saw an uptick in people needing additional food resources. But, she said, she thinks the impact will be higher in Illinois, since Missourians were only on extended benefits for about a year.
"So they weren't as dependent on those additional benefits, versus the states that are now ending. Some of these families have been receiving this maximum allotment for three plus years," Hager said. "So I think that's having a little bit more of an impact because it's kind of become a lifestyle at that point where people have been used to receiving this additional benefit."
Hager said her organization is working on getting the word out to people whose benefits will be ending, and that the foodbank is available to help people maximize the benefits that are available to them.
Copyright 2023 KMOX (Audacy). All Rights Reserved.
Follow KMOX | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Listen on the free Audacy app.
Tell your smart speaker to play K M O X.
