The interactive map below shows how many people in each state — including how many children and disabled people in each state — will face a cut in SNAP (food stamp) benefits Friday when the 2009 Recovery Act’s temporary benefit boost ends. It also lists the total loss in SNAP benefits to households in each state through the end of the fiscal year next September.
These cuts are particularly important given that the House and Senate this week are negotiating further SNAP cuts as part of the Farm Bill. The House version of the bill would cut SNAP by nearly $40 billion over the next decade, throwing several million people off the program.
As we’ve explained, the November 1 cut will hit all 48 million SNAP recipients across the country. A household of three will lose $29 a month, equivalent to about 16 meals a month for a three-person family based on the cost of the Agriculture Department’s “Thrifty Food Plan.”
Without the Recovery Act’s boost, SNAP benefits in fiscal year 2014 will average less than $1.40 per person per meal.
The benefit cut will affect state economies as well. As our analysis explains:
Studies show that in a distressed economy, every dollar of SNAP benefits creates at least about $1.70 in economic activity, as SNAP recipients spend their benefits on food quickly. For example, California and Texas will each lose over $400 million in SNAP benefits that would have helped their residents eat in 2014; the potential economic impact is even greater.