Richland County residents who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits are seeing a decrease to what many already cite as ‘not enough.’ November 1, 2013, SNAP benefits, more commonly referred to as food stamps, decreased by 13.6 percent for all existing and newly qualified persons. This amounts to $1.40 per person per meal, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
The reduction in benefits is not a cut. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided an increase in SNAP benefits, giving recipients a boost in benefits through November 1, 2013. Once the ARRA expired, the SNAP benefits automatically returned to the pre-existing, lower limits.
Richland County Jobs and Family Services (JFS) Program Administrator Kathy Persinger says SNAP benefit recipients have responded with concern.
The majority of people calling into the department after receiving notification early in October about the reduction reflected this sentiment: “It wasn’t enough already. Now how am I going to feed my family?” said Persinger.
The amount of the cut in benefits depends on household occupancy. In real numbers, a single individual will lose $11 a month, while a single mother with two children will see benefits reduced by $29 a month. Over the course of a year, that amounts to a $319 reduction in money for food. While the monthly figures may not seem like a lot of money, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Thrifty Food Plan,” every month a family of three will lose 16 meals.
Areas services have been preparing for the Act’s end date to respond to needs in the community.
“Food banks and pantries will be hit hard,” Persinger said. “There’s been a push to restock some of the food banks and pantries.”
The employees at JFS are pitching in to help.
“We’ve had some dress down days and we bring in canned food goods to help balance out the need,” Persinger said.
However, the impact on the change in benefits extends to concerns over meeting nutritional needs. Nutrition experts at the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council report that SNAP benefit allotments are based on the purchase of unprocessed, whole foods.
In many households, however, the benefits are spent on quick, cheap meals that don’t require the same preparation time as whole foods. These foods don’t supply the same nutritional value as those outlined in the Thrifty program either. With even less money to spend on food, there’s an increase in concern over the health and well-being of food stamp recipients.
While experts in nutrition agree that the pre-November 1 benefits weren’t adequate to meet nutritional needs, the impact of the changes resulting from the end of the Act extends to the local and national economy.
When the estimated 1,847,000 SNAP recipients—16 percent of the state’s population—receive their monthly benefits, they tend to spend that money immediately, and within the community. With less money to spend on food, communities across Ohio, and Richland County in particular, are bracing for the potential economic impact, previously provided by the stimulus benefits in the 2009 Recovery Act.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that ‘every dollar of SNAP benefits creates at least about $1.70 in economic activity’ in an economic downturn.
Smaller stores like CVS haven’t seen much of an impact yet.
‘We haven’t noticed a difference,” said CVS Store Manager Cindy Burson.
Larger stores like Kroger or Walmart may see a decline in revenue over the upcoming months, as customers using SNAP recipients have less to spend each week.
In Ohio, the state’s economic upswing has a potential downside. The work requirement is back on the table for Richland County. Previously, the low unemployment rate in Richland County has made SNAP recipients exempt from having to work. While a lower unemployment rate in general is good news, as is getting people back in jobs and off state-assisted support, Persinger reports that JFS is having to get creative with job opportunities.
“I think that Richland County will have trouble placing people at a work site,” Persinger said. “There are not enough employment opportunities. We are trying to think of creative ways that will help people potentially get employment in the future, but in the meantime, we’re figuring out how to meet that requirement.”
Some options to meet the requirement include work training, GED programs and other programs that remove barriers to becoming employed.
“Food banks and pantries will be hit hard,” Persinger said. “There’s been a push to restock some of the food banks and pantries,” stated Kathy Persinger.
