Over forty million people in the United States use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. These benefits are crucial in reducing food insecurity in the country, but unfortunately, the program falls short of eliminating hunger.
Although the program is funded at the federal level through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), it is administered by the states, each with its own system to distribute the benefits. SNAP benefits are loaded onto EBT cards that work like debit cards but can only be used to purchase some food products at certain grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and convenience stores.
The distribution process is underway in many states and will continue this weekend. Here is the full list of beneficiaries who can expect to see their ETB cards reloaded on Saturday, 4 May, and Sunday, 5 May. SNAP beneficiaries in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas, South Carolina, and Washington can find more details on their payment schedule on the USDA website.
Increased payments coming to families with children this summer
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) will launch the Summer EBT Program this summer, another benefit scheme aimed at helping millions of eligible families receive additional benefits during the warmer months. These funds are intended to support families whose children receive free breakfast and/or lunch through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) throughout the year.
In announcing the new program, the USDA has said that the program aims to ensure food security and hunger does not increase in the families of around “30 million children participate in USDA’s school breakfast and lunch programs on any given school day.” The USDA has found that in the summer months, only “1 in 6 kids who eat free and reduced-price school lunch participate in the summer meals program.” To address this issue, families with children will see an additional $40 for each child, tacked onto their benefit amount in June, July, and August (timelines may differ by state).