Northwest Harvest Applauds USDA Action to Increase SNAP

On Monday, USDA announced that SNAP benefits will be increased in the next federal fiscal year. The change is welcomed by families that struggle with hunger, as the long-term boost in benefits will help make more nutritious food more affordable.

The increase is made possible by a change to the Thrifty Food Plan which is used to determine SNAP benefits. Up until now, the Thrifty Food Plan has only been adjusted for inflation and has not accounted for external factors including increases in food prices and dietary guidelines for basic nutrition. The changes to the Thrifty Food Plan-driven by a provision in the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill- will help struggling families better afford a more realistic and more nutritious diet as recommended by dietary guidelines

Even so, this important increase is still modest: under the new Thrifty Food Plan, the average SNAP participant will have a daily benefit of $5.25, or still less than $2 to spend on each meal. We wholeheartedly welcome this change and also recommit ourselves to our work of ensuring that all low-income households have their basic needs met, including an adequate safety net to help build stability and pathways out of poverty.

This is why we continue to call on Congress to include year-round, healthy food for children and to make permanent the expansions to the Child Tax Credit in the budget reconciliation process. These once in a lifetime investments are not only tested and proven effective at reducing child hunger and poverty during the pandemic, but they can be disrupters, being the equitable lift needed to close opportunity gaps that have only worsened over generations.

Join us today in Raising Your Hand to show your support on social media to end child hunger and don’t forget to complete our checklist of August activities to support our budget reconciliation priorities while Congress is home this month.

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