(The Center Square) – The cost of food assistance in the U.S. has dropped from its peak during the pandemic, but is still 23% higher than it was during pre-pandemic times, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, what used to be called food stamps, peaked in costs December 2022 at $11.07 billion that month. That monthly cost dropped to $7.51 billion as of April 2024. There were about 41.6 million people collecting SNAP benefits as of April 2024.
The September 2019 benefit per person was $147.18 when adjusted for inflation. That was before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The federal government increased its monthly supplement. The April 2024 benefit per person was $180.56, of a 23% increase from five years earlier in September 2019 when adjusted for inflation.
The Department of Agriculture’s fiscal year 2023 report on spending reported that spending was $166.4 billion in 2023, 9.7% lower than the $284.2 billion spent in 2022. When adjusted for inflation, fiscal year 2023 spending was 13% lower in fiscal year 2022 but 54.5% higher than FY2019, the last full year before the pandemic.
That increase from 2019 is attributable to SNAP increasing its benefits due to the pandemic but also an overall increase approved in 2021. The USDA did a reevaluation of its plan and concluded it should increase its per-person benefit by $36.24 a month that took effect Oct. 1, 2021.
