The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, will increase benefit payments by 25% starting in October. The increase is the largest ever for the 42 million recipients nationwide. The average monthly increase will amount to roughly $36 in food benefit payments per person.
Data provided by the USDA showed that there was over a 35% increase in SNAP benefit payments over the past year, May 2020 through May 2021. The increase in SNAP benefits coincides with the rise in food prices nationwide.
Food stamps were first introduced in 1939 as the Food Stamp Program (FSP), which issued orange and blue stamps used for approved food purchases nationwide. The Food Stamp Act of 1964 set into motion a broad and highly monitored system that is still being used, known today as SNAP.
Sources: USDA
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