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The administration of US President Joe Biden is overhauling food stamps and putting in place a permanent increase in grocery benefits. It would provide a 27% bump in aid that marks the biggest-ever increase for the program. The boost came as a temporary increase of 15% and was set to expire next month. The boost will go into effect on 1^st October for at least 42 million people currently receiving food stamps. US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a conference call about the changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP. The benefits on average will add about $36 per month on a per-person basis to the pre-pandemic level of about $121. Moreover, increasing the benefits will boost the annual cost of the program by about $19 billion.

Vilsack said the recent increase will help the 1 in 8 Americans who are now on food stamps afford a healthier diet given higher food prices, evolving nutritional guidelines over the years, and changes in how Americans cook. Congress directed the USDA in 2018 to reexamine the Thrifty Food Plan. It is a set of guidelines that determine the cost of a nutritious diet for cost-conscious families. The reassessment of USDA found that benefits are too low. The new calculation translates into about a 27% increase in the SNAP benefit. Vilsack said, “We need to modernize those assumptions based on what is happening in kitchens and homes across America”. At least 80% of people on food stamps are working adults with children, people with disabilities, or senior citizens living on small fixed incomes.

Vilsack added, “This program was incredibly important for Americans during the pandemic. The pandemic sort of shocked people from thinking, ‘I would never be involved in the SNAP program'”. The boost to benefits came as a temporary increase is set to expire next month. The Thrifty Food Plan also assumes people have about two hours a day to spend on food preparation. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities (a liberal think tank) said that real households on SNAP benefits spend an average of less than one hour a day preparing meals. Vilsack said, “You cannot convince me that people are spending an hour and a half every day preparing food from scratch. Research into the needs of families on food stamps found that many of them had a difficult time making those healthy choices after benefits ran low”.