Thousands of additional people became eligible to receive funds from Connecticut’s Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in 2023, following the creation of new eligibility rules, according to the Lamont administration.
The rules, which went into effect in October of last year, raised eligible incomes from 185% of the federal poverty level to 200% or $2,430 per month for a single person and $5,000 per month for a four-person household. According to Governor Lamont, the additional 15% allows 8,959 (in 4,980 households) to access SNAP benefits.
The 2022 expansion was part of a federal program to increase those income requirements. Connecticut is one of 15 states taking advantage of the allowance.
SNAP benefits have had a whirlwind few years across the country. The COVID-19 pandemic emergency led to increased benefits for families already receiving money from the program, which helped offset inflation at the grocery store. Those extra benefits ended in March of this year, bringing SNAP payments back down while food prices remained high. Still, those benefits increased slightly in late 2022 from pre-pandemic levels as part of a cost-of-living adjustment.
Connecticut is no stranger to food insecurity. According to estimates, around 1 in 10 residents of the state experience difficulty finding and purchasing healthy foods, including 85,000 children. In some of the state’s largest cities, the food insecurity rate can be between 15-20% with Hartford seeing the largest number of food insecure households.
Around 229,000 families share $19.8 million in benefits each year, averaging about $185 a month per family. Actual benefits vary based on income. SNAP benefits can be used at most grocery stores and a number of farmer’s markets across the state.
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