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Toledo
Blade
Ohioans’ food
stamp aid to be reduced
Benefit to fall $50 a month starting in January
By Kate Giammarise
Ohio families receiving food stamps could get an unwelcome surprise
come January: $50 less every month in assistance.
For the 869,000 households enrolled in the program for the poorest
Ohioans, that could amount to about $520 million annually out of the
grocery budgets.
Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses
for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year,
and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a
significant cut in aid, those familiar with the program say.
Recipients should get a letter from the state Department of Job and
Family Services this month explaining the change, said Ben Johnson, a
spokesman for the agency.
Meanwhile, food banks and others that distribute food assistance are
bracing for increased demand.
“They are going to increase hunger among our most vulnerable — working
families, seniors, children, and persons with disabilities,” said Lisa
Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.
Ms. Hamler-Fugitt said her organization is particularly concerned that
some seniors or persons with disabilities who have a low benefit amount
could lose all their monthly assistance.
“We’re really worried about [the change],” she said.
What’s called the “standard utility allowance” — the amount deducted
from a person’s income when the state determines his or her eligibility
for the food stamp program — will decrease by $166 for 2013,
translating to about $50 less per household in food assistance. State
Job and Family Services officials tried to appeal the change to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program,
officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but
the USDA denied the request.
USDA officials did not respond to requests from The Blade for comment.
State and county Job and Family Services officials say there is little
they can do other than letting their clients and community partners who
provide food assistance know about the changes.
Read the rest of the article at the Toledo Blade
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