Center on Budget & Policy Priorities - As policymakers deliberate over the “fiscal cliff” and calls are coming from some quarters for major cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), they should take this into account: SNAP benefits are already scheduled to fall next November 1, when the 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary benefits boost ends. Any further cuts would come on top of these significant reductions and would cause further hardship. Benefits will decline for every SNAP household. For families of three, the cut likely will be $25 to $30 a month — $300 to $360 a year. That’s a serious loss, especially in light of the very low size of basic SNAP benefits. Without the Recovery Act’s boost, SNAP benefits average only about $1.30 per person per meal. Nutrition experts have long held that these levels are inadequate to meet families’ basic food needs. Please continue reading at:
