Health

How Biden’s executive order impacts those with SNAP benefits

CHELSEA, Mass. — From small towns like Franklin to gateway cities like Chelsea, food insecurity remains a major problem in Massachusetts.

“At the peak of the pandemic we were feeding 11,000 people,” said Gladys Vega, Executive Director of the Chelsea Collaborative which runs a food pantry among other services. “Now, I’m down to 6,000-7,000 (people).”

Friday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order for a host of changes to Supplemental Nutritional Assistant Program (SNAP) benefits.

Biden’s order calls for extension of the 15% SNAP benefits increase recently approved by Congress, allows states to increase emergency allotments for the lowest-income residents, asks the USDA to revisit the basic requirements for food stamps. Another big change is a 15% increase to the pandemic EBT benefit for families of students who have lost meals due to school closures.

“As soon as the President took office, he called for immediate action on the hunger crisis gripping vulnerable families and children. The announcement today provides more food dollars directly to food insecure kids living in low-income households who are missing critical meals due to school closures,” said Stacy Dean, Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.

The changes to the food benefits are significant particularly for those who lost jobs and had unemployment run out, according to Pat Baker, Senior Policy Advocate for the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

“The people who get the maximum benefit are truly the lowest income who have no extra money on hand,” said Baker.

In February, Massachusetts families who receive SNAP benefits will get an additional 15% increase which are part of federal appropriations scheduled to continue through June, according to a spokesperson with the Department of Transitional Assistance.

Brenda Romero says she was afraid to apply for food stamps despite a low income and household of five out of fear an undocumented relative could be deported when President Trump was in office.

Now, with a new administration, she told Boston 25 News through a translator she will apply.

“It’s very important,” Romero said.

Some elements of the executive order require congressional approval or USDA action, others may be implemented much sooner.

A spokesperson with the USDA said the following in a statement to Boston 25 News:

We will urge state agencies to work expeditiously with USDA to get the additional benefits out as quickly as possible through the states. Benefits could be available as soon as February and as late early spring, depending on how quickly states prioritize the benefits. We urge states to move expeditiously.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transitional Assistance said the following of the SNAP program changes:

“The Baker Polito Administration has provided strong leadership in meeting the food security needs of its residents during the pandemic.  We are pleased to see the federal government taking steps to strengthen food assistance benefits, helping our low-income, elderly, and disabled clients, as well as our students in remote learning environments, access healthy food. Massachusetts will work quickly to implement these increases as soon as possible.”


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