Aiexpress – The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps millions of Americans manage their budgets by aiding low-income households in putting healthier food on the table. SNAP recipients receive assistance in the form of an electronic benefits card (EBT), which enables them to buy food at approved retailers in homes where financial resources are insufficient to meet these essential needs.
Learn more about the new SNAP restrictions that will impact thousands of beneficiaries
It’s crucial to consider what you can buy over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays because SNAP benefits are primarily meant to be used for basic food purchases. However, you can also use SNAP coupons to purchase items you may not have known existed, like plant seeds, bottled water, cold beverages, meal replacement shakes, protein powder, and live seafood. In addition to specific things like alcohol, tobacco, supplements, and non-food commodities, SNAP limits what can be bought with EBT cards, including hot prepared foods, vitamins, alcoholic beverages, and non-food items like household goods and pet food.
According to the Food and Nutrition Service website, companies that take EBT cards should not accept SNAP benefits for things that are not approved, even if the consumer claims there is an emergency or they have no other money to pay for it. These items include:
- Beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes, or tobacco.
- Vitamins, drugs, and supplements. Don’t forget that an item is deemed a supplement and is not eligible for SNAP purchase if it bears a label including information regarding supplements.
- Live animals (except shellfish, fish taken from the water, and animals slaughtered before being picked up from the store).
- Food that is hot when you want to buy at the store
- Any non-food items such as:
- Pet food
- Cleaning supplies, paper products, and other household items.
- Hygiene items, cosmetics.
How much money do SNAP beneficiaries receive in their monthly benefits?
Families who receive SNAP are expected to spend 30 percent of their net income on eating, according to the report. Likewise, families with no net income receive the maximum benefit, which is based on the cost of USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan (TFP).
Assuming that low-income households make considerable efforts to stretch their food budget, the TFP is the cost of buying and preparing a nutritionally appropriate diet that complies with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. A healthy, nutritious diet is now within the reach of millions of families, according to USDA’s August 2021 TFP update, which increased SNAP payments effective October 2021.
Moreover, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, here are the current payment amounts per household and the projected benefit amounts that all eligible households will receive in the United States:
| Household Size | Maximum Monthly Benefit,Fiscal Year 2025 | Estimated Average Monthly Benefit, Fiscal Year 2025* |
| 1 | $292 | $199 |
| 2 | $536 | $364 |
| 3 | $768 | $594 |
| 4 | $975 | $726 |
| 5 | $1,158 | $845 |
| 6 | $1,390 | $1,018 |
| 7 | $1,536 | $1,116 |
| 8 | $1,756 | $1,317 |
| Each additional person | $220 |
Who is not eligible to receive benefits from the SNAP program?
Regardless of their income or assets, some groups of people are not eligible for SNAP. These groups include those who are on strike, everyone without a valid immigration status, some students enrolled full-time in college, some immigrants with valid immigration statuses, and some individuals with a history of drug-related felonies in some states. States have considerable flexibility to extend work requirements to many other SNAP households, and many adults between the ages of 18 and 54 who do not have children in the home and who do not have impairments are only eligible for three months of SNAP benefits every three years in many parts of the nation.
