USDA Announces 21% Increase to SNAP Benefits Beginning 10/1

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan, used to calculate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits or “SNAP”. As a result, the average SNAP benefit – excluding additional funds provided as part of pandemic relief – will increase for Fiscal Year 2022 beginning on October 1, 2021.

A data-driven review of the Thrifty Food Plan took place earlier this year as directed by Congress and President Biden’s January 22nd Executive Order. This data showed the need for change within the program. In its re-evaluation, USDA was driven by data on four key factors: current food prices, what Americans typically eat, dietary guidance, and the nutrients in food items. As these factors were considered the plan was revised to include more items such as fish and red and orange vegetables so as to align with the current dietary recommendations. And updated pricing data gathered from stores helps to better reflect the current price of foods in today’s marketplace. Recent data also shows consistently that current benefit levels are too low to provide for a realistic, healthy diet, even with households contributing their own funds towards groceries.

9 out of 10 SNAP participants reported facing barriers to achieving a healthy diet, with the most common barrier being the cost of healthy foods. The reevaluation concluded that an increase in benefits by 21% was needed to help families bridge the gap to a healthy balanced diet. This equates to an increase of $36.24 per person, per month for the Fiscal Year of 2022 which will begin on October 1st of this year.

This change is the first of its kind since the program was introduced in 1975, reflecting shifts in the food marketplace and consumers’ circumstances over the past 45 years.