End to extra COVID food aid affects millions

(AP) - The U.S. government is ending the extra money for food provided to low-income people since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has long been known as food stamps, even though the money is now loaded onto Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards, which are used like debit cards at participating stores.

Initially, all U.S. states participated in the program and provided their residents with more SNAP money. But by January, 18 states had rolled back the extra benefits, often along with the end of local emergency declarations. That reduced aid to more than 10 million Americans.

In 32 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the extra benefits end with February payments. Starting in March, about 30 million people will see cuts in the amounts loaded to their SNAP cards. The average recipient will lose about $90 a month, though some cuts could be much larger.

Congress struck a budget deal in late December that traded the emergency SNAP allocations to fund a permanent program to replace school meals during the summer for low-income children.

STATES AND JURISDICTIONS WHERE EXTRA BENEFITS ARE ENDING

Alabama

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Guam

Hawaii

Illinois

Kansas

Louisiana

Massachusetts

Maine

Maryland

Michigan

Minnesota

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

Nevada

North Carolina

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Virgin Islands

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Individual states are responsible for notifying SNAP recipients about the coming cuts. Contact your state’s SNAP agency to ask about those efforts: https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/state-directory