As the cost of living in the US has gone up, government subsidies to help people pay for basics have disappeared one-by-one. Up next on the chopping block: Emergency allotments of a food-assistance program that supports 30 million Americans living in 32 states.
Enhanced benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are ending in February, meaning families and individuals will get at least $95 less per month, with some seeing cuts of $250-a-month or more. Households with kids will, on average, lose out on an extra $223 each month, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. As of early February, New Jersey was the only state that had plans to top up benefits for its residents as the federal program winds down.
