Nearly four hundred thousand Alabama households will see their food stamp benefits cut down in March. The reduction comes as pandemic-era programs end. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 requires emergency allotments to stop nationwide. That means last boost of extra food assistance benefits will go out Tuesday. Brandon Harding is the Food Assistance Director in the State of Alabama. He explains the cuts will average almost two-hundred dollars per household.
“Approximately for each family, at least $170 is the average,” said Harding. “It does vary between families; some will lose a lot more than that, some will lose a little bit less than that. But we encourage families to start, you know, using this month and next month to prepare for this. And to start thinking how they would use their regular allotments.”
The Alabama Department of Human Resources says more than seven hundred thousand Alabamians receive food stamp benefits. That’s fifteen percent of the state.
Harding recommends families who need further assistance reach out to their local DHR’s and food banks.
“Through the pandemic, they were getting their allotments on the regular food assistance day and then the emergency allotment at the beginning of the month. So, at the end of March there will be no emergency allotment. In the month of March, they will receive their regular food assistance allotment.”
The Alabama Department of Human Resources says nearly four hundred thousand families receiving benefits through the so called SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) will be impacted in in the state.
