SNAP Benefits Update: Here's How You Can Get Extra Payments if You Lost Food During Power Shutoff, Wildfire Evacuations

The SNAP benefits update for recipients of Oregon is receiving replacement benefits, especially those who lost food during the recent Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS).

According to The News Guard, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries in Oregon who lost food purchased with SNAP benefits during the recent PSPS or wildfire evacuations are encouraged to request replacement benefits from the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS).

Households who receive SNAP and lost or disposed of food unsafe to eat due to these circumstances can request replacement benefits for the cost of food lost. SNAP recipients may also request to replace food benefits equivalent to one month of the normal benefit amount for the household.

Oregon's government website noted that recipients could request replacement benefits within 10 days of the food loss by calling (800) 699-9075 or emailing at SSP.StatewideWorkshare@dhsoha.state.or.us.

SNAP Benefits Payment Oregon

Oregon state officials announced in the first week of September that Oregon residents who receive SNAP benefits will get additional payment on top of their usual allotment for the month of September.

The emergency benefits will be issued directly onto recipients' Oregon Trail electronic benefit cards on September 13, September 30, or October 4. The emergency benefits will be beneficial for the 433,000 Oregon households that receive SNAP benefits, according to Oregon Live.

Recipients are not required to do anything to receive the extra payments. The federal government has authorized it through the COVID-19 pandemic. Interim director of the ODHS, Jan McLellan, said they know many rely on the additional emergency food benefits to put healthy meals on their tables.

Human Services Department noted that SNAP recipients who have had a change in income or household members should update the agency as such changes could affect the amount of benefits they receive. Oregon's average SNAP benefit is about $200 a month per household.

SNAP Benefits Update

SNAP benefits recipients can expect an increase in their monthly SNAP benefits starting on October 1. As reported by Food Stamps Now, the SNAP benefits will automatically increase the average household benefits due to the changes in the cost of living brought by the rising inflation rates.

The increase was based on food inflation, aligning the benefit's purpose to give low-income households purchasing power to afford a more nutritious diet.

The average cost of groceries reportedly increased by 12.2% for the past 12 months, ending June 2022. It has been considered as the largest-12 month increase since April 1979.

The SNAP benefit levels are based on the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan, which is a set of foods that represent a nutritionally adequate diet that low-income households can prepare. Center for Budget and Policy Priorities noted that the Department of Agriculture makes other annual program adjustments to account for inflation.

The cost-of-living adjustments are not only applied to SNAP, as Medicaid and Social Security benefits, among others, are adjusted annually to cushion the effects of inflation.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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