Lawmakers have spent the past several weeks approving legislation to make billions of dollars in financial relief available to businesses and the estimated 30 million people now unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One segment of the population that has been overlooked in the funding bills is one that also needs assistance — those who rely on food stamps. Congress must address the need for increased funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the next financial aid package.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, are pressing for an expansion of food stamp benefits as well as an investment in a program that would allow recipients to use their electronic benefit card for online ordering and payment. At present, SNAP recipients cannot place orders online and must do their food shopping in person.
Mr. Casey is seeking a 15% increase in SNAP benefits, which are currently capped for Pennsylvania residents at $646 a month for a four-person household. The state Department of Human Services had sought permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which manages SNAP, to issue additional benefits but was denied.
Even with a 15% increase, a family of four would receive less than $100 a month in additional funding, but it could mean a world of difference for those who rely on the assistance.
Unemployment claims in Pennsylvania have skyrocketed to more than 1.6 million in the past month, putting a severe strain on local food banks that are trying desperately to keep up with the demand for food. That has also impacted the more than 720,000 state households that are receiving the maximum food stamp allowance and may not be getting the same level of assistance from food banks because of the increased demand.
SNAP recipients in the state include 688,000 people with disabilities and another 184,000 elderly. Many of those residents will not qualify for the increased unemployment benefits approved by Congress and will rely solely on SNAP benefits to feed themselves and their families.
“We must provide more food assistance as more families struggle financially and our food banks strain to help,” Mr. Doyle wrote on Twitter.
Congressional leaders continue to roll out assistance programs to provide stopgap funding while the nation’s economy begins measured attempts at reopening. Those who rely on food stamps for survival must be included in the next funding proposals.
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