SNAP benefits

Passed and signed into law last Thursday and Friday, the Republican-majority Congress’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” makes major changes to federal food assistance that will affect Ohio.

The bill includes cutbacks on federal funding for the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), which was formerly known as food stamps. The bill would cut back almost $300 billion to SNAP over the next 10 years.

Visits to food banks in Ohio have gone up around ten percent in each of the last three years, but Gov. Mike DeWine’s proposed budget gives them less money.

A bipartisan Ohio Senate resolution asks Congress to reimburse parties that have been injured by fraud and to tighten up safety measures on EBT cards themselves.

The new food assistance program gives families additional money for food once school ends. Advocates say it will help children who rely on school lunches to eat.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack sent out a letter to the governor's of 44 states that are not meeting federal standards for processing SNAP applications.

An increasing number of Ohio farmers markets are accepting SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps. It’s an effort to increase access to fresh, locally grown produce.

The federally funded Pandemic-Electronic Benefit Transfer program was created to support families who count on free and reduced-cost lunch programs when schools went virtual in 2020. The program ends with the current school year.

Low-income families in Ohio have been receiving additional food stamp benefits for the last two years. Food banks across the state expect a surge as the federal pandemic aid ends.

Those who work with low-income Ohioans say they're concerned about the end of the pandemic boost for SNAP benefits as well another change coming at the close of the COVID-19 health emergency.