More than 100 Wrangell households will see their food stamp payments reduced beginning in September as a result of the official rescinding of the state’s public health emergency order on July 1.
As of May, 125 Wrangell households were participating in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), with an average benefit of $469, up 88% from March 2020, the last pre-pandemic month.
SNAP, which traditionally assists low-income families with food purchases, began issuing emergency allotments in April 2020 as part of the federal government’s pandemic response. The emergency allotments guaranteed SNAP households the maximum allowable benefit for a household their size, regardless of income.
The average SNAP payment in Wrangell has fluctuated over the course of the pandemic, but in general, payments have been significantly higher than pre-pandemic amounts.
The 125 households enrolled in the food aid program represents about one in eight households in Wrangell, according to U.S. Census Bureau counts.
In the months leading up to the pandemic, the average Wrangell household SNAP benefit fluctuated between $208 and $260. Since April 2020, monthly SNAP payments have averaged $430.
Salvation Army Lt. Jon Tollerud, who administers the organization’s food pantry in Wrangell, said he can think of specific cases where the expanded benefits helped residents.
“In one instance, we had a family who normally would come to our pantry based on need and they actually didn’t have to come for a time,” Tollerud said.
In a June 6 press conference, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Adam Crum announced the state would rescind the public health emergency order that granted state government a number of tools to address the pandemic, including the federally funded expansion of SNAP benefits. Crum cited a “mellowing out” of the COVID situation as the reason for ending the order.
States are allowed to extend emergency SNAP allotments by a month after their emergency orders end, which Alaska has opted to do, allowing the expanded benefits to continue through August.
Once the SNAP emergency allotment program expires, Shawnda O’Brien, director of the state’s Division of Public Assistance, said she expects payments will return to pre-public health emergency levels.
State food aid organizations have said the reduction in SNAP benefits is particularly poorly timed — the need remains high as prices surge and other pandemic benefits expire.
Tollerud said he hasn’t heard Wrangell residents express concern about the upcoming end to expanded SNAP benefits.
“Based on my experience, I would say that the need is probably always greater than the available resources in our smaller communities,” he said.
The number of Wrangell SNAP cases has climbed over the course of the pandemic, from 110 in March 2020 to 125 in May 2022, although the increase hasn’t been steady. Cases dipped below 100 during winter 2020-2021.
O’Brien said it’s hard to determine why case numbers and benefit amounts have fluctuated month to month.
“Any changes in income, resources, housing, household members, utilities, etc. have an impact on the amount of benefit a person (or) household is eligible for,” she said.
As of April, roughly 56,000 households with 97,000 Alaskans statewide were participating in SNAP, an increase of 17,000 Alaskans pre-pandemic.
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