A new bill, proposed by the vice-chair of the House Agriculture Committee and backed by one of the largest anti-hunger groups in the nation, would raise food stamp benefits by an estimated 30 percent. Rep. Alma Adams, the lead sponsor of the “closing the meal gap” legislation, said on Tuesday that a companion bill would be filed by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a presidential aspirant.
Adams’ bill would calculate SNAP benefits on the basis of USDA’s Low-Cost Food Plan instead of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which has been used for years. “The greatest shortcoming of SNAP is that benefits for most households are not enough to get through the entire month without hunger or being forced to sacrifice nutritional quality,” said FRAC in a report that recommended adoption of the Low-Cost Food Plan. The report echoed a 2012 FRAC report in saying the Low-Cost Food Plan is more in line with what low and moderate-income families say they need to spend on food, as opposed to the smaller benefits issued under the TFP. “The Low-Cost Food Plan also allows for greater food variety and choices to support a healthful, palatable diet.”
The Adams bill would also allow a large deduction for housing costs in the SNAP formula for calculating benefits, boosting the minimum SNAP benefit to $25 a month from the current $16. At latest count, 38.2 million people received food stamps with an average benefit of $124.67 a month.
The House Agriculture Committee has jurisdiction over food stamps, so the Adams bill is likely to be referred to it. A North Carolina Democrat, Adams filed similar bills when Republicans controlled the House, with no success.