Republicans’ Proposed $30 Billion SNAP Cut Would Leave Nebraskans Hungry

Across America, food insecurity is a rising issue, and it has only gotten worse since the pandemic. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)—formerly known as the food stamp program—offers vital relief to food-insecure Nebraskans, ensuring that families, children, and vulnerable individuals have access to food. SNAP also provides a boost to local economies. However, policy threats to SNAP funding loom large, making uncertain the future of the program’s efficacy. The House Committee on Agriculture's recent proposal would cut $30 billion from SNAP over 10 years. With policymakers threatening to cut funding for SNAP and erode recipients’ purchasing power, it is more important than ever for Nebraskans to understand the indispensability of SNAP in their communities.

How SNAP Helps Combat Food Insecurity

Many Americans—Nebraskans included—struggle to put food on the table. Between 2020 and 2022, more than 12% of households in Nebraska experienced difficulty accessing enough food – slightly higher than the average rate of 11.2%. Currently about 75,000 Nebraska households participate in SNAP. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant increase in food insecurity, with SNAP participation peaking at 78,627 in 2020.

SNAP is a federal program that provides nutrition support for low-income working families, people with disabilities, seniors, and other individuals. SNAP operates in all 50 states and is more broadly available than many benefit programs. Benefits are administered proportionally to a household’s income. For example, a household with no income would receive the maximum allotment of benefits, and for every $1 of added income, a household’s benefits go down. SNAP maximum allotments are updated every year based on the cost of what is known as the Thrifty Food Plan, or the cost of groceries needed to provide a healthy, affordable diet.

In general, households must earn at or below 130% of the federal poverty line to qualify for SNAP. On average, individual SNAP recipients receive around $127 per month per person, which equates to just over $4 per day.

SNAP helps the most vulnerable Americans get the help they need to put food on the table. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, over 60% of SNAP recipients are in families with children, and one-third are in households with seniors or people with disabilities.

How SNAP is Administered in Nebraska

Because the federal government splits the cost of administering SNAP with states, each state handles benefits slightly differently. In Nebraska, benefits are distributed onto EBT cards, which function like debit cards and can be used to purchase approved food items such as fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, breads, and snacks. Nebraska has expanded eligibility through a policy known as “broad based categorical eligibility” (BBCE); under BBCE, households must still have gross incomes at or below 130% of the federal poverty line, but are allowed to have up to $25,000 in assets.

The Impact of SNAP for Nebraskans

In 2022, more than 150,000 Nebraska residents benefitted from SNAP, or 1 in 13 Nebraskans. In Nebraska, nearly three-quarters of SNAP recipients are in families with children; nearly one-third are in families with members who are elderly or have disabilities. Between 2014 and 2018, SNAP helped 32,000 people overcome poverty in Nebraska per year – including 17,000 children. On average Nebraskans on SNAP receive around $178 from the program each month ($5.84 per day).

Besides helping individuals and families, SNAP also helps boost local economies; the 1,290 authorized SNAP retailers in Nebraska, including farmers’ markets, redeemed $222 million in SNAP benefits in 2019.

While there are no time limits on SNAP enrollment for the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women, and those with dependent children, able-bodied adults without dependents who are not working are usually limited to three months of benefits in a 36-month period. Most Nebraska households who receive SNAP are already working; 86% of SNAP households had at least one working member in 2019. SNAP can also help supplement low and fluctuating pay, which can contribute to volatile income and job turnover, meaning SNAP has a dual function as both a short-term solution to put food on the table and a support for those with longer-term needs.

Threats on the Horizon: Potential Impact of GOP Cuts to the Thrifty Food Plan

SNAP is reauthorized by the Farm Bill roughly every five years. The Farm Bill is a major piece of legislation that reauthorizes a variety of agriculture and nutrition programs, one of the most significant being SNAP. In 2021, based on a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill, the Thrifty Food Plan was updated, resulting in a 21% increase in the maximum monthly SNAP benefit to meet modern nutritional standards.

Before 2021, the Thrifty Food Plan was only adjusted for inflation, which caused SNAP benefits to become increasingly inadequate year after year. For example, before the 2021 update, the Thrifty Food Plan assumed an average family spent two hours a day preparing food from scratch, including tasks like hand-soaking beans – which is wholly out of step with actual food preparation patterns today.

The 2021 Thrifty Food Plan update was instrumental for Nebraskans—6,000 of whom were kept out of poverty thanks to the change.

This year, the House GOP’s version of the bill includes a proposal to cut about $30 billion in SNAP benefits over 10 years by limiting the USDA’s authority to adjust the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan based on the evolving ways that Americans prepare and consume food. This cut would dramatically erode SNAP recipients’ purchasing power over time.

The cut would be harmful for SNAP recipients across the country. If the cut is enacted, the average SNAP recipient would effectively face between $7 and $15 less per day in benefits between 2027 and 2033. Eighteen billion dollars of the cut would impact households with children, which in a typical month is around 17 million children. In Nebraska, SNAP participants would collectively face a $110 million loss in benefits between 2027 and 2033.

Summary 

With cuts to SNAP included in House Republicans’ Farm Bill proposal, the stakes are high for Nebraska families who rely on SNAP. The program's ability to combat food insecurity, bolster the economy, and lift thousands out of poverty underscores its indispensability. Yet the House GOP’s plan would be a step backward, by freezing the program’s ability to keep up with the reality of the rising costs of a healthy diet for kids and families, threatening the wellbeing of Nebraska families and communities.