Unless congress takes action, food stamp benefits cuts will be put in place as on November which will in turn affect more than 100,000 households. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits had been boosted by about 13% by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 as USA was staggering from the recession. Amounts for food stamp are based on a minimal menu, the Thrifty Food Plan, which is made by the US Department of Agriculture. These food stamp amounts are adjusted regularly so as to keep up with inflation. When the Thirty Food Plan was initiated, the main idea was to keep higher Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits until the time when it was surpassed by inflation. However, in 2011, the United States Congress made a decision to end the increase as from November 2013 so as to make up for the Child Nutrition Program improvements.
Currently, a person can receive food stamps of $16 – $200 per month depending on the circumstances. For example, a Layton resident who has a household of four including two teenagers receives maximum food stamp benefits of $668. When the cuts to the food stamps are implemented, this person will receive $36 less, something that will definitely affect the household greatly. A household with one person will suffer a drop of $11, 2 people household will receive $20 less and 3 people household $29 less. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the average meal allowance given to each person after the food Stamp benefits cut will be $1.40
With the inflation already affecting many people who are forced to stretch their spending, the cuts will increase the burden on many American households who rely on the food stamp benefits to supplement their income. Batchelor, an American with household of four people, is unsure how his family will cope with the food stamp benefits cuts. Every month, they go for a shopping trip but they have to leave some money for bread and milk and other stuff that might run out. With the benefits cut in place, they will be forced to stretch their spending and this worries them. His household and many others will thus be forced to result to the cheaper brands and also remove the expenses for some food stuffs that they can survive without.
With the food stamp benefits cuts looming, the Department of Workforce Services’ staff is preparing to inform their clients about the cuts. They are also preparing for the many calls that they are likely to receive after the Halloween. Even though the Department of Work Service (DWS) does not plan to result to mass mailing, they are largely expected to place notices about the cuts in their offices and their website. They are also likely to send out this information in phone messages that are played while the clients are on hold while calling their offices. The DWS says that they will work hard to maintain enough staff level to ensure that everyone understands what is going on. They therefore face a big challenge especially because they are not the ones that enacted the cuts but are being tasked with informing people about it.