As of Nov. 1, the temporal boost agent for Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will no longer provide the same amount of assistance to families as it has been. Why the sudden change? Since 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided an economic boost for SNAP benefits. Without the Recovery Act boost the SNAP benefits will average less than $1.40 per person per meal in 2014. For a family of four, food stamp benefits will be decreased by $36 a month. This means all families on the food stamp service will be decreased depending on their household size.
While many students at the UO hold jobs to pay for tuition or simply to make some extra cash, working students can’t imagine how families who are struggling will face this sudden change.
For freshman Carly Gough, working at Dairy Queen has helped her pay tuition, but she still faces problems with making ends meet and relying on student loans. Although Gough can still rely on her parents for economic support, she can’t imagine what it is like for those on SNAP who now have to deal with the cuts. Gough can relate to the SNAP benefits situation because she has a sister who is currently going to school and is on food stamps. Although her sister has a job as well, she still has difficulties paying for school.
With the new cut in place, many students agree that this cut is creating a gap in society. For freshman Reyanna Blank, this issue hits home.
“I grew up with food stamps my mom was a single mother trying to raise her kids, and food stamps provided a lot for my family. SNAP is crucial for families who are struggling. It is a necessity because they give so much, and now with this cut it is going to make life a lot harder for those that are barely making it through. If it isn’t for food stamps many families wouldn’t have a meal, and it just shows how people rely heavily on it,” Blank said.
The ARRA stimulated the SNAP benefits by 13.6 percent at the beginning of April 2009, according to Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The ARRA benefits increased for all the participating households, and SNAP benefits were able to remain stable and provide the necessary amount of money for each household size. With the new cuts, families will no longer receive the same amount. The total size of the cut will be approximately $5 billion in 2014 and $6 billion in the fiscal years of 2015 and 2016.
For a household of one the ARRA maximum benefits of Oct. 2013 was $200. Now the maximum benefits beginning Nov. 2013 is $189. The monthly cut is -$11. A total cut of the fiscal year for 2014 is -$121. The amount of SNAP benefits decreases as the household size is bigger except benefits of households of two and three both decrease by $9.
While Congress is still working on how to deal with this sudden change, many families will deal with hardships. Struggling families between the poverty line will have to face a bigger challenge to provide for their families. The cut will affect 22 million children in 2014 whose family incomes is below the half line poverty line, and nine million who are elderly or have a serious disability. This significant cut is equivalent to taking away 21 meals per month from a family of four, according to an article on AlJazeera America.
For the state of Oregon, the total SNAP benefit cut from Nov. 2013 through Sept. 2014 is -$84 million dollars, causing 819,000 recipients to be affected by the cut. Those recipients make up 21 percent of the shared total state population.
As for freshman Ryan Reeder, he believes that something should be done to help this issue. He believes that politicians need to stop looking the other way and look at ways to solve this problem.
“When people are barely making enough money and food stamps are their only option, and suddenly that option is cut, how are people going to provide for themselves, let alone their families. Food stamps isn’t just a benefit it is a necessity in some cases,” Reeder said.