USDA’s Updated Thrifty Food Plan Will Help Millions of SNAP Participants Afford a Healthy, Nutritious Diet

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced revisions to the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), which is used to set SNAP benefit levels. This science-driven and long-overdue re-evaluation is welcome news for families across the state and nation, many of whom will be better able to afford a healthy diet with these updated SNAP benefits.

The changes were spurred by the 2018 Farm Bill, passed with bipartisan support, which ordered a review of the Thrifty Food Plan. Since its inception in the 1970s, the Thrifty Food Plan has been adjusted only for inflation. As a result, SNAP benefits have not kept pace with evolving dietary guidelines, changes in food consumption, or the constraints of time-strapped working families. For many families, SNAP benefits fall short of what’s needed to buy and prepare food that’s healthy and nourishing.

The revised Thrifty Food Plan provides a more accurate measure of the cost of a healthy, varied diet that meets current nutritional standards and reflects what households actually eat. The resulting increase to SNAP benefits is modest, but meaningful. Maximum benefits will increase by 21 percent—raising the average benefit from about $4.25 per person, per day to about $5.45 per person, per day, starting October 1, 2021. While this is a much-needed permanent change, SNAP households will see benefits rise by only seven percent in October because a temporary pandemic-related 15 percent boost to SNAP ends at the same time.

Still, increased benefits will make a difference for families who often exhaust their benefits before the month’s end. Improving the adequacy of SNAP benefits will reduce hunger, improve nutrition, lead to better educational outcomes for children, and will be particularly important in addressing disproportionately high rates of food insecurity among Black and Latino households.

For a full update, including additional resources on the TFP, please see our new blog post.

Round-up of Recent SNAP Policy Updates

COVID-19 Emergency Allotments Coming to All SNAP Households in August
Emergency Allotments (EA) will be issued to all SNAP households in New York State in August. The distribution of these supplemental benefits began on August 9th and will continue throughout the month. While New York State’s COVID-19 emergency declaration expired in June, USDA has granted states a month-by-month approval of EAs if they have other public health declarations in place. For more information about the EA issuance schedule and benefit amount, please see the August 11 update to the SNAP section of our COVID-19 page.

COVID-19 SNAP Waivers Extended through September

• Interview Waiver: Through September 30, 2021, SNAP offices are not required to interview a new or recertifying household if the applicant’s identity has been verified and other mandatory information has been provided and validated. Interview waivers also apply to new SNAP applications that are eligible for expedited processing.
• Telephonic Signature Waiver: The telephonic signature waiver that allows SNAP offices to adjust the requirements for recording a telephonic signature for SNAP applications filed over the telephone or submitted without a signature will continue through September 30, 2021.

For more information about these waivers, please see the August 4 update to our COVID-19 page.

ABAWD Rule Suspended Through September 30, 2022
NYS OTDA will continue to waive the Able-Bodied Adults without Dependents (ABAWD) three-month time limit rule in all New York State counties through September 30, 2022. For more information, please visit our ABAWD page.

Employment and Training (E&T) Requirements Resume
Beginning on August 1, 2021, SNAP offices may start in-person employment assessments and mandatory in-person work activity assignments for SNAP recipients who must participate in Employment and Training (E&T) activities under SNAP rules. For more information on SNAP E&T requirements, exemptions, and activities, see our SNAP Prescreening Guide pages 36-39 and Appendix K. For more information about this update, please see the July 21 update to our COVID-19 page.

Join the SNAP & Seniors Professional Network

Sign up today for our SNAP and Seniors Professional Network, a new initiative that aims to help service providers connect eligible seniors to SNAP. The Network is a one-stop shop for SNAP policy, best practices, outreach materials, and resources to help providers maximize SNAP for the seniors they serve. The Network is open to any individual or organization that serves the senior population. Learn more at SNAPandSeniorsNY.org or sign-up here to receive updates.

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