After Extra SNAP Benefits Expire, Some Fear A "Hunger Cliff"
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2023
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
During the pandemic, the federal government temporarily increased SNAP benefits. But those extra benefits have now expired. That means recipients will get about $90 less each month on average, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute. Some families may see their benefits cut by more than $250 per month.
Dr. Megan Sandel, co-director of the Boston Medical Center's Grow Clinic, which focuses on treating malnutrition issues in kids, explains how children's health can suffer when families are not able to put enough food on the table.
And NPR's Stacey Vanek Smith reports on another worrying trend in Americans' personal finances. Credit card debt is increasing at a record rate, as people struggle to keep up with inflation.
This episode also features reporting from NPR's Alison Aubrey.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Teresa Caldera is 63 years old and she's been disabled for many years. |
| 0:12.3 | I have chronic pain, I have arthritis, fibromyalgia and degenerative disease and so I'm just |
| 0:20.8 | not able to work. |
| 0:22.6 | And for many years she's relied on the supplemental nutrition assistance program or SNAP. |
| 0:28.7 | It's a federally funded benefit to help people pay for food. |
| 0:32.6 | The thing is Caldera says it wasn't really enough. |
| 0:36.6 | I would run out of money pretty much for the middle of the month. |
| 0:42.1 | That changed during the pandemic. |
| 0:44.6 | As part of the federal response back in spring 2020, the government temporarily increased |
| 0:50.2 | SNAP benefits. |
| 0:52.0 | For Caldera's it made a huge difference. |
| 0:55.0 | I was getting, I think about $20 a month and the extra amount that I ended up getting was |
| 1:04.2 | about 280 a month. |
| 1:07.7 | And that helped me tremendously. |
| 1:10.6 | I could be more like when I felt like I needed to be. |
| 1:14.1 | She noticed a big difference in her overall health. |
| 1:17.2 | You know, it's still better. |
| 1:19.0 | I have a little more energy. |
| 1:21.6 | My nails look better. |
| 1:23.0 | And they were real split, cracked and dried. |
| 1:28.0 | And I noticed having eaten more vegetables than me said, you know, they look a lot better. |
| 1:34.4 | They're not pretty, but they're healthier. |
... |
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