‘Hunger cliff’ on horizon as SNAP sunsets, advocates say

Low-income families in Massachusetts are facing dire food circumstances amid rising costs and a planned end to federal SNAP supplemental payments, members of the Legislature’s food system caucus were told Wednesday.

“The SNAP caseload has increased 40% since the start of COVID,” Christina Maxwell. Director of Programs

at The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts explained.

Since March of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Massachusetts using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, have seen extra money added to their benefit as the result of the federal government’s response to the virus.

In the Bay State, that has resulted in an average increase of $151 to a participating household’s normal monthly benefit of $335, according to the Department of Transitional Assistance.

However, Congress’s endof-the-year lawmaking disconnected the SNAP program from the rest of the pandemic relief plans, meaning that February is the last month families will see the extra money.

It couldn’t come at a worse time, according to Maxwell.

“With inflationary trends that we’re all seeing at the grocery store, the cost of groceries has really shot up in the past couple of years. This is placing enormous pressure on families to be able to feed themselves,” she said.

According to the USDA, all food prices are predicted to rise by 7.1% in 2023 and food-at-home prices may rise by as much as 8.0%.

Gov. Maura Healey has filed a supplemental budget which could ease the transition away from the extra SNAP money for families by providing 40% of the soon-to-sunset subsidy. At a cost of $130 million, the plan would provide just three months of extra funds. Her administration has described the plan as an “offramp.”

Even with that extra three months at 40%, families may still struggle to put food on the table. Jean McMurray, CEO of the Worcester County Food Bank, said that in 2022 alone her organization saw a 25% jump in service needs, and that was with the full SNAP supplement intact, making any “offramp” more like a pileup in the making.

“The significant hunger cliff facing SNAP households in Massachusetts as of March 2nd is our most immediate and urgent concern,” she said. “The situation is even more pressing, because the four regional food banks and our respective food pantry partners are already responding to an unprecedented level of need.”