During the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States passed The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which allowed states to request additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for households in response to COVID-19. Since April 2020, The Minnesota Department of Human Services, in partnership with the Minnesota Information Technology (MNIT), has been issuing emergency SNAP benefits for eligible SNAP households. Now, the emergency boost to SNAP benefits will end nationwide after February 2023.
“That was a program that the federal government issued supplements for individuals receiving SNAP to help them during the pandemic,” Polk County Social Services Financial Assistance Supervisor Jon Street. “The program will be ending, and their last benefits will be received in March, and those are approved this month of February, so the benefits that are being approved for this month will be received by the clients and recipients of the SNAP program at that time.”
Starting in April, the Emergency SNAP benefits will return to the standard amount they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if a household’s February approval is delayed, they may receive their last E-SNAP payment in a later month.
In preparation for the end of E-SNAP, the department is sending notices to all SNAP and MFIP Food households that will be affected.
“Right now, the Department of Human Services is doing messaging by text to clients that have received E-SNAP. They are also doing direct mailings to the clients and a broad media campaign with notifying individuals that E-SNAP will be ending for them,” Street explained. “At this time, that is how the messaging is going out through the state to the recipients, from text messaging to direct mailing notices, to media attention, and they can also call our office and get more information on that program ending, what they can do, and what other programs will be available to them.”
Households will continue to receive regular SNAP benefits for as long as they are eligible but will return to the standard allotted amount according to their income and household size.
“They will be receiving before COVID is what it will be reverting back to if all things remain the same in terms of their income and assets. If it was with E-SNAP, they didn’t receive that prior, and they won’t be receiving it after this date, so it’s that supplement and that emergency piece that’s coming to an end,” said Street. “What individuals have relied on for the over the past three years, it will be difficult for them because the price of food and those things have gone up substantially with inflation, and everyone is feeling the impact of that, and the end of this will be a dramatic impact on the budgets of the residents of our county and statewide as well.”
If there have been any changes to your household’s income, rental payments, or utilities, you can contact Polk County Social Services or your SNAP worker to redo or have them see if you’re eligible for any benefit increases.
If you are unsure if your final E-SNAP has been approved or need to report any changes to your household’s income, you can call Polk County Social Services at 218-281-3127 or their toll-free number at 877-281-3127 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to learn the timing and amounts of your benefits. You can also call the number on your EBT card to learn when and if your benefits are included. If you want to apply for SNAP benefits, you can call Polk County Social Services, complete an application at www.mnbenefits.mn.gov, or request an application at the Social Services office at the Polk County Government Center. For information about the end of Emergency SNAP, you can visit www.MN.gov/dhs/end-of-e-snap.
