Food Insufficiency Rates Jumps after expanded pandemic benefits end
Food insufficiency rates jump after pandemic era
As expanded pandemic benefits end, food insufficiency begin
In a recent article published by Whyy.org, people who get financial help to buy food and groceries through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program saw an increase in their monthly benefit amounts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But after the SNAP emergency allotment stopped following the end of pandemic era earlier this year, an estimated 2 million more Americans faced food insufficiency, according to a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Aaron Richterman said that research shows that increasing the SNAP emergency allotment can be very powerful. But once SNAP emergency allotment were reduced, about one out of every 20 SNAP households experienced food insecurity.
Food insecurity means lack of access to enough nutritious food after SNAP emergency allotment reduced. It can involve hunger at times, but it’s really that unstable access to food that’s of enough quality or quantity.
Read Also:Food insufficiency rates jump among SNAP recipients after expanded benefits end, Penn study finds
Food insufficiency is a more extreme category of food insecurity, as SNAP emergency allotment stopped, individuals and families may not have enough food to eat at all. The Penn study, published in JAMA Health Forum, looked at data from 3 million survey participants across the U.S. and people who rely on SNAP emergency allotment.
Dr. Richterman and his colleagues said the study provides additional evidence that higher SNAP emergency allotment can help keep more people healthy in the long term, whereas slashed SNAP emergency allotment will cause people to struggle. Individual states have passed local laws to expand SNAP emergency allotment or eligibility following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency in March.
New Jersey raised the minimum SNAP benefits amount to $95 a month per household following the end of SNAP emergency allotment. Many families are eligible for more, depending on their income. The state passed another law this month that guarantees SNAP benefits for at least one year before people must reapply for eligibility.
Read Also:Associations Between Ending Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Emergency Allotments and Food Insufficiency
