For people on benefits, inflation adjustments lag behind

Dec 10, 2021
Social security and SNAP benefits are adjusted every year for inflation. While that tends to be enough in normal years, it's not enough right now.
For those on fixed incomes, inflated prices on everyday items like rent and food can hit particularly hard.
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What a $30 monthly increase in food stamps means for recipients

Aug 17, 2021
The Biden administration is giving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits their largest permanent increase.
The SNAP food assistance program has about 42 million recipients as of May. The Biden administration is expanding the program to reduce food insecurity.
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Pandemic food benefit expands for qualifying children through summer

Apr 5, 2021
Researchers think this temporary expansion could bring permanent changes to the SNAP program.
For many kids, school is the main way to get any lunch at all.
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The latest pandemic relief measure increases SNAP benefits

Jan 5, 2021
Advocates say the food assistance increase should help reduce food insecurity for households that qualify.
The increase in SNAP benefits, plus an additional $300 a month in federal unemployment benefits, should help reduce food insecurity.
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The pandemic economy is changing the way Americans buy groceries

Aug 21, 2020
Now that expanded relief benefits are gone, more people will likely rely on SNAP benefits.
A man shops for groceries at a Seattle supermarket. The downturn has propelled millions of Americans into the federal nutrition assistance program.
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Rising food prices make it harder for families on assistance programs to get by

Aug 12, 2020
With the pandemic, there are now 43 million people signed up for food assistance through SNAP.
One food bank network director says that even during good times, "the SNAP subsidy is often not sufficient."
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Risk of deepening hunger crisis as SNAP exemption expires

Aug 11, 2020
When the pandemic began, the federal government made it easier for states to approve people for SNAP, but that flexibility is ending this month, raising concerns that more people will go hungry.
There is likely to be another big spike in SNAP enrollment now that Washington has let federal unemployment benefits expire.
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Need for food stamps surges with pandemic

Jul 27, 2020
More than six million people signed up for food stamps in just three months, more than in the first 17 months of the Great Recession.
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Coronavirus-linked hardship puts pressure on food banks

Apr 9, 2020
As millions lose their jobs or suffer furloughs, the demand at food banks is surging.
Volunteers pack boxes of food at the distribution center of the Capital Area Food Bank on April 9 in Washington, D.C.
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