By Erin Kee McGovern | 2.14.2019
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
participants are used to receiving their benefit once a month. During the
federal government shutdown last month, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
requested that states issue February’s benefits in January to ensure that
people received them during the shutdown.
What does this mean
for SNAP participants?
This means that many seniors are budgeting to make their
benefits last until March. For some it could be up to 60 days between their last benefit in January and their
next in March. When they received their last benefit, SNAP participants were
alerted that it could be an extended period of time before another distribution
would be made. While the government is open again, the impact on SNAP
participants continues. To help close the gap between distributions, the states are permitted to modify March distributions as much
as possible.
How can SNAP
participants get help now?
People who have already spent their February benefits and need
access to food can visit NCOA’s online screening tool BenefitsCheckUp®.
It can help older adults find communal or congregate meals in their area,
connect them with other emergency food programs like the Commodity Supplemental
Food Program (CSFP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), Senior
Grocery programs, and their local food bank.
Where can SNAP
participants go to learn more?
If you or a loved one is a SNAP participant, you can learn more
about when to expect March benefits by calling your States SNAP Hotline. You
can find the Hotline number for your state here.
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