47M Americans Hit by Food Stamp Cuts Starting Today

Washington Informer November 1, 2013

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Volunteers gather food at the New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester, N.H. on Oct. 1, 2013. The temporary increase in food stamps expired Oct. 31, meaning for millions of Americans, the benefits that help them put food on the table every month won't stretch as far as they have for the past four years. (Photo: Jim Cole, AP)

[USA Today]

Food stamp benefits will be cut to more than 47 million Americans starting Friday as a temporary boost to the federal program comes to an end without a new budget from a deadlocked Congress to replace it.

Under the program, known formally as the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP, a family of four that gets $668 per month in benefits will find that amount cut by $36.

SNAP, which benefits one in seven Americans, is administered by the Department of Agriculture and is authorized in a five-year omnibus farm bill covering all agricultural programs.

Vulnerable populations will be hardest hit by the cuts. In New York, more than 1 million elderly people or those with disabilities will feel the impact, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank. About 2.3 million children in both California and Texas will be affected.