End of Extra Covid SNAP Payments Training on Deductions; 2023 State Legislative Campaigns

FoodSNAP
01/26/23

Greetings SNAP Coalition members and thanks to the 140+ folks who attended Tuesday’s meeting.  We have a LOT going on the next few weeks! And if you are in Boston today, the Feed Kids Campaign has State House event at 11 AM and the Lift Our Kids Campaign has a State House event at 2 PM! Check their webpages below.

Special “SNAP Deductions 101” Training - Tues Feb 7th from 10-11:30 AM 

MLRI is hosting a free “refresher” training for individuals and organizations on the SNAP math and income deductions. All MA households will be losing their extra Covid SNAP payments - the last payment will be March 2  (these are also called “Emergency Allotments”). There will be NO extra payments in April nor the following months.

 

Our goal is to give community organizations simple, actionable information to help households maximize their SNAP if not receiving the maximum regular SNAP benefits.Click here to register and receive the Zoom link. 

 

The training will cover:

  • The four SNAP income deductions that many households can claim: shelter, child/adult care, healthcare and child support.

  • The easiest ways for households to claim deductions

  • The “SNAP math” - how claiming deductions can boost regular SNAP benefits.

DTA Resources to guide households on the end of Extra Covid SNAP Payments 

  • DTA has posted extensive data on how the end of the SNAP extra payments will impact MA cities and towns as well as key caseload demographics, posted HERE. For example:

    • Families with kids under 5 and working families will be hardest hit - facing a loss of, on average, $221 and $278/month, respectively. 

    • On average, households will lose $151/household. 

  • For all of DTA’s materials and information, including fliers in16 languages, see Mass.gov/ExtraCOVIDSNAP

  • DTA has been texting and mailing notices to all SNAP households. The notices are going out on a rolling basis (not all households have received it yet). Here is a copy of the notice, and additional information is included in the DTA envelope. 

Important 2023 State Legislative Campaigns

Here’s an initial list of five 2023 Legislative (and FY23 Budget) campaigns SNAP Coalition members are involved in and how you can get involved:

: 

  • Feed Our Neighbors Campaign: Restore state-funded SNAP/cash benefits to legally present immigrants excluded from federal benefits: Fill out this form to learn more about the Feed Our Neighbors Campaign bill and FY24 budget campaign. 

  • Lift Our Kids Campaign: Boost TAFDC/EAEDC benefits for extremely low income families to at least 50% FPL. Check out the Lift Our Kids Campaign HERE.  

  • FeedKids Campaign: Continue Universal Free School Meals for all Massachusetts K-12 children. Check out Project Bread’s webpage #FeedKids Campaign HERE

  • Hunger Free Campus Campaign: Support MA’s public 2 and 4 year colleges and minority serving institutions to address student food insecurity on campus. Check out the MA Hunger Free Campus Campaign HERE.

  • Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) Campaign: Put HIP into state law (enabling legislation) and support FY24 funding at $23M. Check out the Mass Food Systems Collaborative webpage on HIP Campaign HERE