In his first days in office, President Biden is taking strong steps to reduce hunger in America, especially during the pandemic.
The president is working to increase SNAP benefits now and possibly in the future, provide more funding support for pregnant women, infants and children and expand food aid to school age children through Pandemic EBT.
The Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan would:
- Extend the 15 percent Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit increase from June 2021 to September 2021. The plan also commits to extending those benefits for as long as the COVID-19 crisis continues and to work with Congress on automatic adjustments that reflects health and economic conditions.
- Invests $3 billion over several years to help women, infants and children in low-income households get the nutrition they need through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
- Enables a one-time emergency infusion of administrative support for state anti-hunger and nutrition programs to ensure that SNAP benefits get to families that need them most.
The Biden Administration is also asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to:
- Increase the Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) by approximately 15 percent to provide more support for families whose students are learning remotely. This translates to about $100 more for food purchases over two months for a family with three children.
- Allow larger emergency SNAP allotments for the lowest-income households.
- Update food assistance benefits to reflect the true cost of a basic healthy diet under the USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan.
We look forward to working with our national partners, including Food Research & Action Center, to urge our national leaders to swiftly advance this plan for addressing hunger in America.
