The USDA’s record 27% increase in food stamp benefits “is a large advance for poverty reduction, nutrition, and opportunity for children,” said one economist.
By Kenny Stancil, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 8-16-2021
Progressives on Monday commended the Biden administration for approving the largest permanent expansion of food benefits in the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which anti-poverty advocates say will help improve health and educational outcomes for millions of low-income households in need of financial support.
Although the cost of a healthy diet has grown over time, the United States Department of Agriculture had not increased the value of the Thrifty Food Plan—its model for estimating how families could meet nutritional guidelines as inexpensively as possible, which is used to calculate SNAP benefits—since it was first established in 1975 based on 1962 prices, with the exception of adjustments for inflation. Continue reading
