Food benefits for millions at the center of the latest spending battle in Washington

At the food pantry in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, the line starts more than an hour before the doors open on some days and has grown steadily, from about 50-60 people earlier this year to more than 75 in recent months.

Francesca Serrano, who heads the pantry there for the Community Center at Visitation, said those in line are struggling with continued increases in food prices and pandemic-era cuts to benefits for everything from groceries to rent.

“I’m definitely seeing a lot of new faces and an increase in people coming into our pantry,” Serrano said. “I can only assume that this will continue, especially with food aid cuts.”

Despite historically low unemployment and rising wages, the need for food assistance has increased this year, according to government data, consumer surveys and interviews with nonprofit organizations. But on Capitol Hill, limiting food benefits has become central to the latest budget battle, which could come to a head by the end of the month when key pieces of funding legislation expire.

Republicans in Congress pushed through new limits on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, during negotiations earlier this year to raise the national debt limit. But some are seeking to impose further restrictions on the program and roll back aid increases while they hammer out a new farm bill before the current law expires on Sept. 30.

“I think Congress is in this really strange and unique political and economic environment,” said Taren Bragdon, head of the Government Accountability Foundation, which lobbies for additional requirements and cuts to SNAP. “At the same time that we have a large deficit, we also have low unemployment and millions of open jobs. So I’m optimistic that these smart, bipartisan solutions can be advanced.”

The push comes at a time of growing need. The number of Americans receiving SNAP benefits increased to 42 million as of May, up 2.3% from a year earlier and up about 13% since the start of the pandemic. Consumer spending data for May showed that 47% of households making less than $50,000 a year reported receiving food assistance, up from 39% in February before the end of emergency handouts in the Covid-19 era that boosted cash , which SNAP recipients received each month, according to Morning Consult.

In Feeding America’s network of 200 food banks, 80% of requests for food assistance have increased or remained stable in recent months, said Vince Hall, group manager of government relations. Higher food prices, as well as the expiration of Covid benefits for food, rent, utilities and childcare, are driving demand, Hall said.

“This is the first time in the history of food banks that we’ve seen record low unemployment combined with record high demand for food assistance and food banks,” Hall said. “The economic crisis that has left millions and millions of families turning to food banks for help is not abating, and people are still struggling and still wondering where they are going to get their next meal.”

A key area in which Republicans are pushing for change is so-called work requirements. Until last month, most childless adults without disabilities between the ages of 18 and 49 had to document at least 80 hours of work per month to qualify for benefits for more than three months in a three-year period. But under legislation passed earlier this year to raise the government borrowing limit, the age limit was raised to 50 from this month and will eventually reach 54 by October 2024.

“We need work requirements,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “I think if you’re — certainly if you’re under 55, able-bodied and you don’t have kids at home, you should be encouraged to work.”

The Republican proposals would further raise the age to 65 and eliminate recent work-requirement exemptions added to the debt limit legislation for veterans, the homeless and young people leaving foster care. The changes would eliminate benefits for at least 3 million people, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The Government Accountability Foundation is also pushing for Congress to require that adults with school-aged children be added to those who must meet the 80-hour work-month requirement.

Monique Williams, director of partnerships and development for Bread of Life, which distributes fresh produce to about 10,000 to 13,000 families a month, said many of the people her organization serves are already working but still can’t afford enough food for themselves or their families. .

“A lot of people who come here are working,” she said. “But their salary doesn’t always stretch to cover everything.”

Although inflation has slowed, the price of goods in general has not decreased. The cost of food eaten at home increased 3.6% in July from a year earlier, and food prices are expected to rise about 5% for the year, according to the USDA. This is in addition to an 11% increase in 2022. All areas have seen prices rise by at least 13% since inflation started to rise in April 2021.

Claire Richardson, who has worked as a SNAP advisor for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger for nearly a decade, said she’s heard from people who lost their benefits or saw them cut recently because their hourly wages went up, putting them out beyond the income eligibility threshold. But after taxes, that extra income isn’t always enough to cover the higher costs of rent, childcare, gas, utilities and groceries.

“People are very disappointed. People have become very burdened on the phone that they don’t have a right,” Richardson said. “It’s hard for me to listen day after day, month after month, year after year. There must be another way.”

One of the most common concerns she hears from people seeking SNAP benefits is the lack of affordable childcare that prevents parents from working full-time.

“I’ve had families that have worked, never been on food stamps in their life, and the mom had to quit to stay home to take care of the kids,” Richardson said. “What’s the point of going to work making $1,600 a month when childcare costs $1,200 and you also need transportation.”

The percentage of children living in poverty more than doubled to 12.4% in 2022 after Congress allowed the pandemic-era child tax credit to expire, along with other Covid-era aid, according to a report by the Bureau census earlier this month.

Among other changes to SNAP that Republicans are seeking is a rollback of monthly benefit increases introduced by the Biden administration, which adjusted calculations of how much it costs a household to maintain a budgeted diet. Under the changes, recipients saw their monthly payments increase by an average of 21%.

But groups that work with SNAP recipients say the current level of SNAP funding is not enough for some. In Philadelphia, Serrano said about half of the people who come to her weekly food bank receive SNAP benefits but are still looking for staples like canned tuna and rice.

The House Republican Study Committee also wants to change the way SNAP money is distributed to states that administer the program and require states to use more of their own funds to cover costs, while limiting their flexibility in offering to waive work requirements for certain groups.

While Republicans control the House of Representatives, any changes to SNAP benefits would have to go through the Democratic-controlled Senate. That makes any cuts to the program unlikely in the Senate, said Sen. John Boozman, R-Arkansas, the top Republican on the Senate Agriculture, Food and Forestry Committee.

“I don’t think SNAP funding will be cut,” Boozman said. “It takes 60 votes to try to do things like this. You have a Senate controlled by Democrats. I don’t see that there will be votes.”

However, supporters of reforms see a unique moment in political and economic terms.

“I think Congress has a great opportunity to put people on the path to the American dream through sensible reforms to the food stamp program,” said Bragdon of the Government Accountability Foundation. “Given the labor shortages businesses are facing, and the opportunity for high starting salaries for many entry-level jobs, this really gives Americans a great chance to break out of the workforce.”