We have some exciting news to share. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that they will be updating the basic formula they use to calculate SNAP benefits, called the Thrifty Food Plan!
This means there will be a 21% increase in SNAP benefits across the nation. The average benefit will rise from about $4.25 per person per day to about $5.45 per person per day in 2022 (disregarding pandemic increases).
This change will be reflected in benefits beginning October 2021. You do not need to take action to receive this increase if you participate in SNAP and your eligibility will not be impacted.
Many of you have told us that your SNAP benefits were just not enough to last the full month. With this long-overdue change, SNAP will now better support individuals and families. We hope this increase will also lessen the impact of the end of the 15% increase in benefits for September and the end of SNAP emergency allotments when that happens sooner or later.
Between the pandemic, federal relief efforts, and Nebraska state actions to extend or cut benefits, SNAP has been almost constantly changing for nearly a year and a half! We hope these updates have and will help make sense of your benefits overall.