The food stamp program will cost $145 billion this year, more than double its pre-pandemic total, due to expansion to combat the pandemic, estimated the CBO in updating its budget outlook. SNAP was fourth among programs with the largest spending increases over 2020.
“Outlays for SNAP are projected to total $145 billion this year, an increase of $59 billion (or 69 percent) from last year,” said the CBO update released on Wednesday. “Much of that increase stems from recently enacted legislation that increased SNAP benefits for 2021 and expanded the program to provide benefits to replace meals that children would otherwise have received at school.”
At latest count, 42 million people were enrolled in SNAP, with average benefits of $227 per person, per month. Before the pandemic, enrollment averaged 37 million, with monthly benefits of $121 per person. In response to the pandemic and the accompanying economic slowdown, Congress approved emergency assistance to the program’s poorest participants and temporarily increased benefits by 15 percent. SNAP cost $63 billion in 2019 and $86 billion in 2020, and was forecast at $105 billion in 2022.
Mandatory agricultural spending was forecast at $48 billion this year, an increase of $17 billion from 2020. “That increase is largely the result of continued spending on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which provides assistance to farmers, ranchers, and consumers affected by the pandemic,” said the CBO.
The agency expects mandatory agricultural supports to cost around $17 billion a year over the next decade. SNAP would average about $81 billion.
The CBO update is available here.