Millions of low-income American families can buy healthy food with help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is run by the US Department of Agriculture.
An Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card, which works like a debit card and can be used at certain stores, is used to send benefits.
The benefits are added to the card every month and can only be used to buy healthy foods. It is planned that the standard benefit for November 2024 will be $535.
The SNAP payment can go up to $1,258 a month for a family of four, though. A big difference can be seen in Alaska. People who live in cities get the same benefits as everyone else in the country.
Families who live in rural areas, on the other hand, can get between $1,604 and $1,953 per month, depending on whether they live in a rural 1 or rural 2 area.
There is an allocation of between $3,076 and $3,516 for larger rural households with seven or eight people. Across the country, the average for households this size is between $1,982 and $2,265.
How much is the additional SNAP payment?
The extra amount given for each extra person living in the household over and above the standard amount varies. The cost of adding a member is $283 in Alaska’s cities but only $220 in other states. The cost is $361 for rural 1 and $440 for rural 2 in rural areas.
In the rest of the country, the minimum SNAP benefit for a household of one or two people is $23. In Alaska, it is $30 for urban areas, $39 for rural 1, and $47 for rural 2.
