Low-Income Marylanders Face Food Assistance Cut in November

774,000 low-income people in Maryland will see a cut in their food assistance benefits this fall, when a temporary boost to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is set to expire, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A new report from the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities analyses the impacts.

SNAP benefits will average less than $1.40 per person per meal after the cut. All of the 47 million Americans, including 22 million children, who receive SNAP, known as the Food Supplement Program (FSP) in Maryland. will experience the reductions.


To strengthen the economy and ease hardship resulting from the Great Recession, Congress approved a modest boost in benefits to SNAP recipients as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The increase expires on October 31. For a family of three, that cut will amount to $29 a month — $319 for the remaining 11 months of the fiscal year.

This small increase in Supplemental Nutrition Program benefits has helped 774,000 struggling families in Maryland stay afloat during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. For many of these families, this modest assistance is providing a lifeline to those who are struggling to find work, or are working at jobs that do not pay them enough to put food on the table.

In addition to helping to feed hungry families, SNAP is one of the fastest, most effective ways to stimulate a struggling economy.  Every $1 increase in SNAP benefits generates about $1.70 in economic activity.

The across-the-board cuts scheduled for November will reduce the program nationally by $5 billion in fiscal year 2014 alone. Cuts of that magnitude will have a significant impact on low-income families.

SNAP has never before experienced a reduction in benefits that impacts all participants, including 22 million children nationwide. Given the fact that benefits are already inadequate for many families, these cuts will be particularly painful.

On top of these across-the-board cuts to the program, the U.S. House of Representatives recently defeated legislation that would have cut $20 billion from SNAP, eliminating food assistance for nearly two million people. This would leave many families and their children without assistance to put food on the table when they need it most.

The House is considering and could vote on even deeper cuts to the program in the coming weeks.

The Supplemental Nutrition Program has been a powerful tool in helping to keep families out of poverty. The majority of recipients who are able to work, do so. And for those who can’t or are temporarily unable to find a job, SNAP has helped to give them a leg up. Now is not the time to further reduce this already modest assistance to these struggling families.


In Maryland, the benefit cut through October 2014 will total $82 million, slowing economic growth by reducing overall consumption. Nationally, the cut will total roughly $5 billion in federal fiscal year 2014 and an additional $6 billion across fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

More information about Maryland’s SNAP program is here. Maryland Hunger Solutions also provides a wealth of information about food insecurity in our state, and the successful programs that are fighting hunger.

Serving MD’s Children: Support Meals for Achievement

Today we have another guest blog, this time from Lisa Klingenmeier at Maryland Hunger Solutions.

Even as the national economy slowly improves, many Maryland families still struggle to make ends meet. Maryland has the highest median household income in the country, yet statewide 14.8 percent of households had difficulty affording enough food to feed their family during the first 6 months of 2012. From December of 2011 to December of 2012, every county in Maryland had an increase in enrollment in the Food Supplement Program (known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and formerly known as Food Stamps). At the same time, the USDA estimates that food costs will rise between 3 and 4 percent in 2013.  Reliable sources of healthy meals, through programs like the School Breakfast Program, are more important than ever.

Photo taken at Meade Middle School, an MMFA School

Maryland Meals for Achievement (MMFA) allows participating schools to provide breakfast free to all students in the classroom, thereby increasing breakfast participation, while reducing stigma and other barriers to participation.  The program addresses the hunger and nutritional needs of students in schools where at least 40 percent of students are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. The benefits of MMFA are clear – higher school breakfast participation has a positive impact on the educational performance, health, and behavior of Maryland’s children.

Unfortunately, during the 2012-2013 school year, only 271 schools of the 813 schools that are eligible for MMFA are actually participating because of budget limitations. As more families are struggling to make ends meet and put adequate food on their table, it is essential that eligible schools receive the resources they need to provide free school breakfast to all of their students through the MMFA program.

In his FY2014 budget proposal, Governor Martin O’Malley included an additional $1.8 million dollars in the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) – Aid to Education budget for MMFA, which would provide in-classroom breakfast to 57,000 more vulnerable children.

Maryland Meals for Achievement is only part of a statewide investment by community partners to help combat childhood hunger, but it is an important, proven, and cost-effective one.  As many Maryland families continue to struggle with food insecurity, Maryland Hunger Solutions and MBTPI strongly support MSDE’s Aid to Education budget as set by the Administration, including the additional funding for the Maryland Meals for Achievement program.