The U.S. government is ending the extra money for food provided to low-income people since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has long been known as food stamps, even though the money is now loaded onto Electronic Benefits Transfer Cards, which are used like debit cards at participating stores.
Initially, all U.S. states participated in the program and provided their residents with more SNAP money. But by January, 18 states had rolled back the extra benefits, often along with the end of local emergency declarations. That reduced aid to more than 10 million Americans.
In 32 states, including Massachusetts, Washington, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the extra benefits end with February payments.
In November 2022, 1,058,606 people across 640,041 Massachusetts households were participating in the program, data showed.
Starting in March, about 30 million people nationwide will see cuts in the amounts loaded to their SNAP cards. The average recipient will lose about $90 a month, though some cuts could be much larger.
Households will receive their last payment on March 2.
The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance has launched a new website to help residents navigate the end of these temporary federal benefits.
Congress struck a budget deal in late December that traded the emergency SNAP allocations to fund a permanent program to replace school meals during the summer for low-income children.
Here’s a full list of states and jurisdictions where extra benefits are ending:
Alabama
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Guam
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Nevada
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Virgin Islands
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
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