food prices

USDA Making Changes to SNAP Program

Dale Sandlin General

food prices
Woman stands making purchases in the supermarket.
Image by bodnarphoto/DepositPhotos

The US Department of Agriculture has announced that they are making changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In a memorandum to all state agencies administering the SNAP program, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins reiterated the authority to grant state SNAP Agency requests to waive the time limit on receiving SNAP benefits by Able Bodied Adults without Dependents who do not meet statutory work requirements. Section 6(o)(4) of the act provides explicit and sole discretion to grant  these requests when the Secretary determines the unemployment rate in an area is over 10% or lacks sufficient jobs to provide employment for those able bodied adults without dependents. Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “Since my confirmation, I have reiterated the states are our partners, and this includes ensuring our nutrition programs are tied to putting Americans back to work. It is important to remind states that Congress conditioned the receipt of benefits by able-bodied adults without dependents on satisfying work requirements. Many states have abused the system by requesting work requirement waivers. Today marks the start of a new era for SNAP—prioritizing work, career and technical education, and volunteering rather than idleness, excess spending, and misapplication of the law.”