State to issue entire month of SNAP benefits

Oklahomans who receive SNAP food benefits will be getting their March disbursements at the beginning of the month.

This is the second month in a row that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits will be disbursed on a single day.

To reduce the number of days SNAP families have to stretch their food dollars, all SNAP benefits will be issued on March 1.

SNAP benefits were issued on Feb. 1 after the partial federal government shutdown disrupted staggered issuance of benefits. Benefits are typically issued in a lump sum on the first, fifth or 10th days of each month depending on when beneficiaries are scheduled to receive them.

“Due to that unique circumstance, customers had to make their SNAP benefits stretch for a longer time period than usual,” Oklahoma Department of Human Services officials state in a news release. “To reduce the number of days SNAP families have to stretch their food dollars, all SNAP benefits will be issued on March 1.”

Staggered issuance of SNAP benefits is expected to resume in April, according to a news release. The staggering is to prevent grocery-runs to stores that may not be able to make the demand.

“Local supermarkets will keep products flowing and not encounter shortages for any period of time,” Ron Edgmon, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Grocers Association, said in a prepared statement. “We have association members in every county in the state and we work diligently, along with our wholesalers and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, to make sure the consumer has fresh safe food on the counters when shopping at their local stores.”

In 2018, more than 800,000 Oklahomans received SNAP benefits. Those Oklahomans included disabled veterans, children and senior citizens.