Under the Biden Administration’s $1.9 billion “American Bailout Plan,” instead of expiring in June, the increased benefits are extended for an additional three months.
Beyond the $1,400 stimulus check, the Biden Administration’s new $1.9 billion stimulus plan includes several additional provisions such as an increase in SNAP funding to address the hunger problem of one in 10 Americans.
The coronavirus relief package provides $1.15 billion to extend the maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits by 15% through September 2021.
Increases of $25 per month
The increase that was initially approved last December as part of the second stimulus bill provides for increases of $25 per month and is expected to impact about 40 million Americans.
Under the “American Bailout Plan,” instead of expiring in June, the benefit increase is extended for three more months.
NBC’s report this week citing figures from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities highlights that the average SNAP benefit per person was $125 per month in FY 2020, equivalent to $1.39 per person per meal.
As part of the infusion to the food program, the Biden Administration package allocates about $25 million to upgrade SNAP’s online system and improve SNAP technology.
Other provisions to tackle the food shortage problem contained in the plan include the following:
- $5 billion to maintain and expand the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program, which provides vouchers to families to buy groceries when schools are closed, replacing the breakfast and lunch meals that children receive in schools
- 880 million for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which targets low-income female-headed households.
- 37 million for the Commodity Supplemental Food Assistance Program (CSFP) to assist low-income seniors with USDA food assistance.
- 1 billion to provide food assistance to territories such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.
