Stolen SNAP replacement, Summer EBT, Farm Bill and more!

07/12/24

Greetings all, hoping you had a rest filled 4th of July break. We want to share some important updates and reminders as summer rolls on. We also attached DTA’s July updates to the Advisory Boards, which covers a number of the things below. Our next Coalition meeting will be on Tuesday, July 23, from 10-11:30 AM. We do not have an August Coalition meeting.

1,400+ orgs nationwide call on Congress to protect and defend SNAP

Thanks to the 96 MA orgs who joined on the national letter urging Congress to prioritize protecting and strengthening the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the upcoming Farm Bill and any other legislative vehicles moving forward. Over 1,400 organizations across the nation signed on - WOW!  

We will be recirculating this letter with the MA Congressional Delegation members - but please continue to remind your member of Congress about the importance of the SNAP program and invite them to your local program to see why SNAP is so important. Here’s  MLRI’s media statement and MLRI’s tweet.  And here’s  FRAC’s press release  Please amplify through social media!

 

Reminder: Process for SNAP theft replacement

Households who have their SNAP stolen should report it as soon as possible to DTA. DTA will replace stolen SNAP benefits - replacements ideally will be issued within a few days after the report is made. More information on DTA’s FAQ here. Let Vicky -vnegus@mlri.org - know of any issues. 

Clarifying note: Federal replacement rules cover up to 2 months worth of stolen benefits and only 2 replacement issuances in a federal fiscal year. The state has provided state funds to “wrap-around” the federal limits for the limited number of folks harmed by the federal limits. Prospectively, those funds are in limbo for state fiscal year 2025 - MLRI has advocated with the legislature to include funding for state wrap-around replacement in the final FY25 budget. We do not know yet if it will be included in the final budget. Bottom line: If you hear from anyone who had more than 2 months of SNAP stolen starting July 1 or who had their claim for replacement denied because they had been stolen from more than 2 times in the past, please contact Vicky right away. 

Summer EBT - updates and what to know!

Summer EBT is coming soon! About 500,000 children in Massachusetts will be issued $120 in food funds for the summer months on July 25. See Mass.gov/SummerEBT to learn more. 

What to know now: This week DTA sent a text message and started mailing notices out to families who will be automatically issued Summer EBT on July 25. 

  • If families who are not on SNAP do not get the text and/or this notice by around July 20, we encourage them to apply for Summer EBT. 

  • For families who are not on SNAP, got the text from DTA, but do not get the notice by around July 20 - they should urgently check/if relevant update their mailing address by calling the Summer EBT hotline number: 855-425-8770. DTA will send the Summer EBT card to the address on file. If family does not get the notice, they likely will not get the card unless they update their address. It is critical households get their EBT card quickly!

More information on messaging, outreach, and how to apply in MLRI’s Summer EBT slide deck here. We will continue to update this deck - so please refer to it for up to date information on what is going on!

State coverage of health care (Medicare Part B) costs!

Many older adults on Medicare may be eligible for a state benefit that covers the cost of a specific insurance premium called “Medicare Part B.” This premium is $174/month for many people - having those dollars back makes a huge difference! Many older adults have the Medicare Part B premium automatically taken out of their Social Security. 

The state benefit is called “Medicare Savings Program.” There is no asset test (thanks to years of advocacy from the Mass Senior Action Council and others!). The vast majority of SNAP households with older adults who get Social Security are eligible for this benefit. Click here for more information from the state, including online and paper applications.  And check out this excellent and clear Mass Senior Action Council FAQ here!

You can check if an older adult is currently paying their Medicare Part B premium - and might be eligible for the Medicare Savings Program - by helping them check their DTAConnect. If the Medicare Part B premium is automatically taken out of their monthly Social Security, that cost will be listed in their “My Info” page. They can also call the DTA Senior Assistance Line at (833) 712-8027 and ask a DTA worker as well.  

Thanks to DTA for working with MassHealth to get the word out on this with an alert on Mass.gov!

USDA Data Dashboard on SNAP, Child Nutrition, WIC and more 

We want to share some really useful USDA dashboards that were published in the last few weeks. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) regularly conducts research and data analysis to inform program or policy decisions and understand nutrition program outcomes.Their data is accessible to state and local agencies, service providers, and the public by developing data visualization and analytics tools that can be used to support nutrition program delivery or report on outcomes. Below are links to:

And you can join a WIC Dashboard webinar on August 5th, by registering HERE.