Limits imposed on SNAP benefits

New food stamp restrictions Changing eligibility requirements will leave families without food stamp benefits, including those with free/reduced lunch. 9 news

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT recently announced its plans to establish a new work requirement for families to receive food stamps, which will take effect in April. Announced on Dec. 4, the new executive order will require any family receiving assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to have a job. SNAP provides aid to many families across the U.S. and helps combat hunger by allowing lower-income families to receive subsidized grocery store purchases, lessening the financial burden of buying food. However, under the new rule, families in which no one is employed will lose their SNAP assistance. Among the changes are eligibility requirements and efficiency changes to the process of reviewing applicants. Three major changes will be made, childless adults without mental or physical disabilities won’t get food stamps for more than three months of the year. Adding to the requirement change, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will input utility bills when calculating the applicants’ income when applying for food stamps. It will now be put up to the state to thoroughly examine the applicants when applying for food stamps as an attempt to efficiently examine every applicant.

Instituting this rule change is meant to save money, encourage productivity and close what the government views as “loopholes” to qualify for the program. SNAP participation also allows students who qualify to receive lunch at school for free or at a reduced price. Under the new rule, nearly 200,000 children in Florida who currently receive free or reduced lunch from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) would lose their subsidies and be required to pay for school lunch. Recent government analyses predict that the SNAP changes could reduce the federal NSLP costs by about $90 million every year. The standards revoke SNAP access from households that possess more than $2,250 in assets or have an income higher than 130% of the federal poverty line.

“This is good, because our government has been over budget, and it’s the responsibility of a working-age adult to support himself,” senior Javier De la Regata said.

Those opposed to this new implementation believe that cutting such benefits would disadvantage citizens who need assistance most. SNAP’s beneficiaries must frequently deal with food shortages and often have to ration their meals at the end of the month as income runs out. “What’s the point? Free or reduced lunch is meant for your kids to have food if you have low income, so if you’re taking that away then who are you giving it to, ” senior Sarah Hernandez said.

In Miami-Dade County Public Schools, 71% of the student body is enrolled in the NSLP. At the school, 1,973 students, or 65% of the student body, are on free or reduced lunch status; it is likely that some of them will be affected by the new changes. Nationwide, nearly one million students will be affected by the new rule. However, the majority of these students would still be eligible for school lunch benefits; they would just have to reapply instead of receiving automatic benefits.

“Now I’ll have to go through more of a hassle, even more than what my family is currently going through,” senior Elias Benedich said.

A Feeding South Florida report recently found that 19.4% of the children in MiamiDade County go to bed hungry. Under the administration’s proposal, all of them would have to apply to the program again to continue to get their meals.

“For some students, they aren’t getting much food at home, so they depend on school lunch for food. If that gets taken away, that can affect learning, behavior, and health,” school lunch manager Lacretia Strickland said. Ultimately, the changes to SNAP eligibility will ripple across South Florida and the nation. Public school students everywhere will be affected, while the government will save significant funds — nearly everyone will be impacted in some way. h BY ISABELLA AHUMADA, STAFF WRITER AND ALEXANDER SUTTON, COPY EDITOR T

“FOR SOME STUDENTS, THEY AREN’T GETTING MUCH FOOD AT HOME, SO THEY DEPEND ON SCHOOL LUNCH FOR FOOD. IF THAT GETS TAKEN AWAY, THAT CAN AFFECT LEARNING, BEHAVIOR, AND HEALTH,” LACRETIA STRICKLAND, SCHOOL LUNCH MANAGER “

STUDENTS SPEAK UP THE NEW RULE IS UNFAIR TO MANY PEOPLE WHO REALLY NEED HELP FROM SNAP, AND TO STUDENTS WHO BENEFIT FROM THE PROGRAM. JEFFERSON RIZO, SOPHOMORE “

I THINK THE NEW REGULATION WOULD DO A GREAT JOB IN REMOVING FAMILIES WHO DON’T REALLY NEED THE HELP, BUT WILL STILL EXCLUDE [THOSE THAT DO]. MAHA ESSAKALI, JUNIOR “