Shiawassee Times

In Michigan, the amount of food assistance benefits paid out to families in need jumped by $68 million from February to March, according to MLive. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) said in February that the federally funded Food Assistance Program paid out $137.5 million. In March, the program paid out $205.9 million.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program requirements and benefits have recently changed.

The amount of money disbursed per person has gone up, and every recipient will receive the maximum benefit, since the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed the economic landscape in communities statewide.

For example, if a household consists of one person, the maximum benefit is $194 per month, according to the state of Michigan.

A family of four would receive $646 per month. A family of eight would receive $1,164 per month. There are approximately 350,000 families in Michigan receiving food assistance, according to MLive.

In March, SNAP recipients received almost $50 more in benefits than they did in February, which contributed to the payout increase, according to MLive.

Bob Wheaton, Public Information Officer for the MDHHS, told MLive, "We realize these are unprecedented times, and a lot of people are facing significant financial hardships because of the situation."

"We’re doing all we can to help those families and individuals to provide nutritious food while they’re going through these hard times," Wheaton added.

The number of people receiving food assistance went up from February to March, according to MLive. In February, 1,175,901 received food assistance benefits. That number jumped to 1,247,923 in March.  

Due to COVID-19, the number is expected to have been higher again in the month of April.

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer Program (P-EBT) is another federally funded food assistance program for Michigan families with students aged 5 to 18 who receive reduced-price or free lunch at school. About 895,000 students will benefit from this program, MLive reports.  

According to Wheaton, the benefits from P-EBT have not been paid out, so they did not contribute to the increase in food assistance benefits in March.