Part of the Food Policy Snapshot Series
Policy name: SNAP Minimum Benefit Program
Overview: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bill to ensure that SNAP beneficiaries will receive a minimum of $95 in monthly benefits per household.
Location: New Jersey
Population: 9.4 million
Food policy category: Food security, nutrition
Program goals: To ensure that SNAP beneficiaries have sufficient funding for food.
How it works: All SNAP beneficiaries will receive a minimum of $95 in benefits per month. If a household is currently approved for less than $95 per month based on federal guidelines, they will receive a supplement from the State of New Jersey to reach the $95 minimum.
Progress to date: On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which included a provision stating that SNAP emergency allotments, provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, would be terminated after issuing February 2023 benefits. Bill S3491 was introduced in the New Jersey Legislature on January 12, 2023. It was passed by the Assembly on January 26 and by the Senate on February 2. Governor Murphy signed the bill into law on February 8.
Why it is important: Since March 2020, households receiving SNAP benefits were given federal Emergency Allotments (EA) in an amount equaling the difference between their monthly base benefit and the maximum benefit for their household size. In April 2021, the federal SNAP EA policy was updated such that households received a minimum of $95 in supplemental benefits per month. With the termination of these extra benefits, the federal minimum monthly SNAP benefit will drop to $23. In New Jersey, families will be losing an average of $190 per month.
The end of emergency allotments comes at a time when food prices have been rising steadily, with food prices 10 percent higher in January 2023 than in January 2022, and they are expected to continue to increase by 7.9 percent over the course of the year.
Many people have been relying on emergency allotments to afford the food they need, and now they will need to cut back on food purchases and/or turn to emergency food assistance programs for adequate nutrition. Maintaining a minimum monthly benefit of $95 will help to prevent the federal reductions from resulting in greater food insecurity in New Jersey.
Program/Policy initiated: The policy will go into effect after the federal emergency allotments end on February 28, 2023.
Point of contact:
New Jersey Office of Legislative Services, Office of Public Information
Phone: 800-792-8630
Email: leginfo@njleg.org
Similar practices: In 2022, New Jersey established a State SNAP Minimum Benefit Program that set the minimum SNAP allotments at $50 per household per month, but it was never implemented as the federal emergency allotments were still in place.
Evaluation: Evaluation has not yet been conducted.
Learn more:
- Eating Better on a Fixed Income: What You Can Buy for $23 in SNAP Benefits (National Council on Aging)
- “Hunger Cliff” Looms as 32 States Set to Slash Food-Stamp Benefits (CBS News)
- Looming Cuts to Emergency SNAP Benefits Threaten Food Security in Rural America (USA Today)
- Pandemic SNAP Benefits Are Ending Soon. Here’s What to Know (The Hill)
- SNAP Emergency Allotments are Ending (USDA)
- Temporary Pandemic SNAP Benefits Will End in Remaining 35 States in March 2023 (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
References:
- Bill S2156 (New Jersey Legislature)
- Bill S3491 (New Jersey Legislature)
- Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Congress.gov)
- Food Price Outlook, 2023 (USDA)
- Governor Murphy Signs Legislation Increasing Minimum SNAP Benefits Available to New Jersey Residents (Office of Governor Phil Murphy)
- Governor Phil Murphy Signs Bill Increasing Minimum Snap Benefits for NJ Residents (ABC 7 New York)
- Gov. Murphy Signs Bill Increasing Minimum SNAP Benefits in New Jersey (PIX 11)
- NJ Nearly Doubles SNAP Benefits for Struggling Families as Federal Pandemic Aid Winds Down (North Jersey)
- PL 116-127 – Families First Coronavirus Response Act (USDA)
- Senate Moves to Help New Jerseyans Who Rely on SNAP Benefits (Hunger Free New Jersey)
- SNAP Emergency Allotments (EA) Provision in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (USDA)
- SNAP – Fiscal Year 2023 Cost-of-Living Adjustments (USDA)
- SNAP ‘Food Stamp’ Payments Are About to Get Smaller. NJ Lawmakers Want to Fund the Difference. (Gothamist)
