Thousands to lose emergency food stamp benefits next month
CHILLICOTHE— The past few years during the Covid-19 pandemic have been hard for many. Many have struggled to pay for necessities like food and shelter and once emergency funding from the COVID relief package ends many of those on SNAP will be given less help.
While SNAP benefits vary based on income and expenses the maximum amount a family of four could receive, if they qualify, is $939 a month. To qualify the household can not have a gross monthly income of over $2,839.
Emergency benefits began in March of 2020 and have continued every month since, giving each household that receives SNAP their regular benefits as well as an emergency allotment that helped to give them the maximum amount for a household of that size. A base allotment of $95 was also given to all assistance groups during a second deposit later in the month.
These emergency allotments are set to expire at the end of the month meaning February will be the last month of assistance to include the emergency benefits.
According to Jacqueline Stobbs from South Central Ohio Job and Family Services around 11,737 people in Ross County are expected to lose these emergency benefits once the aid ends at the beginning of March.
While Stobbs does not know exactly what the loss of this money will mean to local families she assumes it will only make the struggles they face larger and that food banks will likely see more traffic. She said the organization has been reminding recipients that these benefits will be ending in efforts to allow families to be able to plan for the future.
Stobbs said it is important for those on SNAP to make sure all of their information is up to date so that way they get important notifications, like emergency benefits ending. Staying up to date will also help ensure that a recipient is getting as much help as they are eligible for.
Mike Thompson, General Manager at the Good Samaritan Food Pantry said they are expecting many more people to come in daily to get food. Right now they serve around 40 people per day, that number is expected to go up to 60 once the benefits end. To prepare the food pantry is trying to stock up on food as much as possible.
"I look for our business to increase substantially," said Thompson.
Marsha Jackson from the Zion Baptist Church Community Outreach Center Food Pantry said they are also expecting numbers to rise, especially households with children as they currently serve mostly senior citizens. She said the pantry is trying to stay stocked by ordering more from the Mid-Ohio Foodbank and even using their own money to help others during this time.
Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at SReeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Thousands to lose emergency food stamp benefits next month
