Politicians think that the next administration will change SNAP benefits as part of a larger plan to cut back on federal spending. This is because President-elect Donald Trump takes office in just 55 days. SNAP is the biggest program in the US that fights hunger.
The Pew Research Center says it is also one of the most expensive government programs that help people in need.
Numerator, a company that does research on consumers, released a survey last year that found that 24% of all consumer goods bought in the US come from SNAP households. This means that any changes to the program would likely have an effect on retailers.
The Federal Government has announced major cuts in SNAP benefits
A study from Circana that came out last week found that SNAP households spend 32% more per person than non-SNAP households. CEOs of grocery stores have already told investors that changes to the SNAP program have hurt their businesses’ profits.
Salaam Bhatti, director of SNAP at the Food Research & Action Center, a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy nonprofit in the United States that works to fight hunger, said that any changes to SNAP benefits would happen at a time when people are still having a hard time with high grocery store prices and wages that have not kept up with food price increases.
Bhatti also said that there is a rise in people not having enough food. According to the USDA, only 86.5% of U.S. families had enough food to eat in 2023. This is more than 1% less than the 87.2% of homes that did so the previous year.
Bhatti says that hunger affects every congressional district. It affects everyone, everywhere, and in every way. Hunger does not stay in one area code.
Trump’s first term in office gives us a taste of how his second term might affect the food aid program, even though he has not said what his administration plans to do with SNAP benefits yet.
When Republicans win the 2024 election and take control of the House and Senate, they will back the new administration.
Trump has named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and Brooke Rollins as secretary of the USDA.
These appointments are still subject to Senate approval. From then on, Rollins would be in charge of the SNAP program.
When will beneficiaries receive their SNAP benefits in December?
At the local level, states handle SNAP benefits by processing applications, figuring out who is eligible, and sending out payments. The Department of Agriculture is in charge of giving out money and making rules for programs at the federal level.
The dates that SNAP benefits begin and end in each of the 50 states listed below for December are shown below. Please note that these dates may change from state to state depending on how resources are distributed.
- Alabama: December 4 to 23
- Alaska: December 1
- Arizona: December 1 to 13
- Arkansas: December 4 to 13
- California: December 1 to 10
- Colorado: December 1 to 10
- Connecticut: December 1 to 3
- Delaware: December 2 to 23
- District of Columbia: December 1 to 10
- Florida: December 1 to 28
- Georgia: December 5 to 23
- Guam: December 1 to 10
- Hawaii: December 3 to 5
- Idaho: December 1 to 10
- Illinois: December 1 to 20
- Indiana: December 5 to 23
- Iowa: December 1 to 10
- Kansas: December 1 to 10
- Kentucky: December 1 to 19
- Louisiana: December 1 to 23
- Maine: December 10 to 14
- Maryland: December 4 to 23
- Massachusetts: December 1 to 14
- Michigan: December 3 to 21
- Minnesota: December 4 to 13
- Mississippi: December 4 to 21
- Missouri: December 1 to 22
- Montana: December 2 to 6
- Nebraska: December 1 to 5
- Nevada: December 1 to 10
- New Hampshire: December 5
- New Jersey: December 1 to 5
- New Mexico: December 1 to 20
- New York: December 1 to 9
- North Carolina: December 3 to 21
- North Dakota: December 1
- Ohio: December 2 to 20
- Oklahoma: December 1 to 10
- Oregon: December 1 to 9
- Pennsylvania: December 3 to 14
- Puerto Rico: December 4 to 22
- Rhode Island: December 1
- South Carolina: December 1 to 19
- South Dakota: December 10
- Tennessee: December 1 to 20
- Texas: December 1 to 28
- Utah: December 5, 11, and 15
- Virgin Islands: December 1
- Vermont: December 1
- Virginia: December 1 to 7
- Washington: December 1 to 20
- West Virginia: December 1 to 9
- Wisconsin: December 1 to 15
- Wyoming: December 1 to 4
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