Delaware health officials say the state is losing $16 million in federal food stamp money or SNAP benefits Friday as cuts take effect nationwide.
The federal government increased spending on SNAP programs by 13.9 percent in 2009 at the onset of the recent recession.
Those benefits are tied to the Farm Bill, which remains stalled because Congress has yet to reconcile the different versions of it passed by House and Senate.
Elaine Archangelo, Director of the state Division of Social Services, says those enrolled in SNAP will lose about $9.50 on average.
But she says that can be a significant hit depending on the person’s financial situation.
“The less disposable income you have, the harder it is to manage any kind of loss and these clients are at a very low end of the income spectrum and so they will feel it," said Archangelo. "[That might add up to] maybe a couple of gallons of milk for the month or two or three boxes of cereal.”
And Archangelo notes that it won't just be those enrolled in the SNAP program that will feel the hit.
"I think that all retailers will be feeling this because our clients shop at a lot of places, so it's definitely a loss," said Archangelo.
During the height of the recession, she says enrollment in the program ballooned by double-digit figures year after year, but the rate of increase has been tapering off lately.
The Division of Social Services estimates that this year's growth will increase by less than two percent.
Archangelo says she doesn’t foresee increase spending on SNAP returning, but she hopes drastic cuts proposed in the House version of the Farm Bill won’t come to fruition.
