SNAP and Rising Holiday Costs
Although Jack-o-lanterns and spooky skeletons still reign supreme in retail decor, by late October the holiday shopping rush has begun. According to Forbes, 16% of Americans started their holiday shopping back in June. Partially thanks to inflation, 2024 looks to be another huge year of spending.
Despite rising costs, many people are still looking forward to the joys of the holiday season. However, this time of year can spike anxiety for a large subset of Americans – 41.1 million individuals as of last December.
That’s the number of people in our country who rely on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits for food.
Using SNAP can be stressful at the best of times. Although the program has an undeniably positive impact, it’s not perfect. The benefits are based on the Thrifty Food Plan, a meal plan created by the USDA. The TFP is supposed to provide an outline for cost-effective, yet nutritious, meals. However, the TFP has long relied on outdated food costs. In 2021, the real cost of the TFP was recalculated for the first time in 45 years. From that time to now, food costs have risen another 21.5% with no further adjustments to the TFP or corresponding SNAP allocations.
SNAP also doesn’t cover any non-food essentials, like toilet paper, feminine hygiene products, or soap. Nor does it cover infant formula, vitamins, or medicine – let alone Christmas presents, or enough food to cook a special holiday meal.
“We’re currently homeless, and we didn’t have anything for Thanksgiving last year,” mom-of-four Nahlini told us at a Feed the Children Resource Rally. “A local food pantry gave us a voucher to come to this event today, and now, we won’t be left out of Thanksgiving, which we didn’t think we were going to have.”
Nahlini also emphasized why it’s so important to provide a sense of normalcy for her children around the holidays: “I don’t want them to think that this is forever. I don’t want them to feel sad, or like we’re stuck here.”
In addition to food and hygiene items, the Resource Rally Nahlini attended had toys for children. Her kids were ecstatic. Those toys might be the only gifts they get, Nahlini said, but to get anything just “for fun” was a blessing.
At another Feed the Children Resource Rally in our home state of Oklahoma, we met Lyn, who adopted and is raising two of her grandchildren, both under the age of 10. Lyn relies on Social Security for income, and managing a holiday budget is difficult.
“During the holidays, money is a challenge,” she said. “I don’t want my kids to be hungry. I don’t want any child or anyone to be hungry. There’s no words to explain the feeling that you get when you know your children are going to have dinner on the table for Christmas or Thanksgiving.”
SNAP is a great starting point for food support. But it’s important to remember that it doesn’t provide enough for all families, nor do all families who need food assistance qualify for the program. To receive SNAP, a family’s income must be at or below a certain percentage of the Federal Poverty Level. Qualification doesn’t account for individual circumstances – a family’s income may look adequate on paper, while in reality much of it is going to insurance, childcare, rent and bills, or a local high cost of living.
We believe that this holiday season, every family and every child deserves to have enough to celebrate. At the very least that should include enough food for a good meal, and to go to bed with a full stomach. Join us today, and help let hungry children know they’re not alone.
