Food Stamps: Thousands More on the East Coast Just Became Eligible for SNAP Benefits — Here’s Why
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Vance Cariaga
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Daria Uhlig
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While many Americans face the prospect of stricter regulations that could threaten their food stamp benefits, at least one East Coast state has expanded the program to give more people access to food purchasing assistance.
Earlier this month, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced his administration’s decision to increase the income eligibility limits for the state’s food stamp program, formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Under the new initiative, an additional 8,959 people in 4,980 Connecticut households will now benefit from the program. The state’s Department of Social Services, which administers SNAP, estimates that these individuals will access $19.9 million in SNAP benefits over the coming year, or an average of $185 per month.
SNAP is a food purchasing assistance program overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but administered at the state level. It’s designed to help low-income households pay for healthy food they might not otherwise be able to afford. In most states, SNAP enrollees are issued electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards, which work like a debit card and are replenished each month that beneficiaries are eligible.
Connecticut’s SNAP program gives more than 229,000 households a monthly allowance for buying food, according to a Nov. 21 press release from the governor’s office. Under the new eligibility rules, Connecticut residents qualify for SNAP if their monthly gross income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, which would be $2,430 for a single person and $5,000 for a four-person household. That’s up from 185% of the federal poverty level previously.
“This simple change brings in new federal funding to help Connecticut families put food on the table and supermarkets, grocery stores, and farmers markets operate in neighborhoods that might otherwise become food deserts,” Lamont said in a statement. “I hope residents across the state will take a second look at whether they can benefit from SNAP and thank the federal government for allowing actions like this that support our efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity.”
Connecticut’s move comes amid an environment where many lawmakers aim to make it harder rather than easier to qualify for food stamps. A Congressional bill introduced by 23 Republicans in March proposed to raise the maximum age for work requirements from 49 to 65 and limit a state’s ability to waive work requirements.
However, as previously reported by GOBankingRates, a debt ceiling bill signed into law by President Joe Biden over the summer resulted in eligibility changes to SNAP that raised the age requirement for adults who must show proof of work to qualify for benefits.
Previously, “able-bodied adults without dependents” who were 18 to 49 years old had to show that they worked at least 80 hours a month or were enrolled in a training program to receive SNAP. That age limit has since been raised to 52. Effective Oct. 1, 2024, it will rise to age 54 through at least Oct. 1, 2030.
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