SNAP is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Food Stamps. It provides monthly benefits to Americans with a low income to help them buy groceries. Although the amount for each recipient is not the same, maximum amounts do not differ in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia.
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have higher payments due to their higher inflation. In fact, Hawaii got a reduction rather than an increase after the 2024 COLA.
The new COLA for SNAP will be effective on this date
The current Food Stamp amounts for all recipients will be the same through September 30, 2024. Therefore, there will be new SNAP amounts from October 1, 2024, claimed USDA (United States Department of Agriculture).
Since USDA updates maximum amounts at the beginning of each fiscal year, Oct. 1 will be the date when SNAP recipients will start to get the new payment amounts.
USDA uses the Thrifty Food Plan to work out the price of a market basket for a 4-member family in the United States. The Thrifty Food Plan calculates the cost of nutritious food and affordable meals every June. Last’s years COLA was very similar to the Social Security increase, about 3.2%.
How much could SNAP benefits increase?
Since Food Stamp amounts are somehow related to inflation, let’s have a look at the CPI for All Urban Consumers. For example, over the last 12 months, the all items index is 3.4 percent.
For food, it is about 2.2 percent. Since the Seniors Citizens League prediction for Social Security’s 2025 COLA is just 2.6, it may be a similar amount for Food Stamps.
If the maximum SNAP amounts increased by 2.6%, recipients could get up to $998 if there are 4 members living in the same household. A single person receives up to $291 through September 30, 2024, so it could be about $298 after the COLA increase for 2025.