Indiana issued $144M in food stamps in July, up 111% compared to same time last year

<!-- 5207032002 -->

Fallout from the novel coronavirus outbreak has exacerbated the already high need for nutrition assistance among Hoosiers, data released by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration shows.

A review of the last six months of data reported by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs shows large increases in enrollment and funds distributed over the same period last year.

Nearly $1.7 million in TANF grants was distributed among single-parent and two-parent households last month, according to FSSA, with the amounts granted to single-parent or child-only families increasing by nearly 60% compared to July 2019.

Stage 4.5 of reopening continues: Indiana's mask mandate extended

During the month of July alone, the state issued $143,942,285 just in SNAP benefits -- an increase of over 111% compared to the same month last year.

The number of households receiving SNAP, otherwise known as food stamps, also increased, reaching 386,908 in July, an annual increase of nearly 50%. The average amount provided to each household was $372.03.

<style>.oembed-frame { width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0; border: 0; }</style>

The jump in amounts issued wasn't surprising to service providers, said Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana's Hungry, but it's worrisome to see the fallout of the outbreak affecting some of our more vulnerable neighbors.

"The folks who are having the hardest time to begin with,” she said, “are the ones who are it the hardest by these things.”

Short-term solutions

In April, Indiana announced it would begin providing SNAP-enrolled families with the maximum amounts allotted for their household sizes rather than issuing their typical amounts, which are determined by the number of people in the home and reported income limits. The maximum allotments for each household are:

1, $194 2, $355 3, $509 4, $646 5, $768 6, $921 7, $1,018 8, $1,164 Add $146 for each additional person

Families that were already receiving the maximum allotment pre-pandemic did not receive the additional boost, Bryant noted.

“That’s great for folks who are not already at that maximum,” she said, “but what it means is that the most low-income SNAP households are not getting anything in addition to that.”

Hunger is just one strand of a complicated web affecting Hoosiers during this crisis. As Hoosiers continue to grapple with unemployment and the eviction and utility shut-off moratoriums come to an end, Bryant said the stress of the pandemic could reach its tipping point.

"Without federal movement -- we really want for Congress and the president to come to an agreement much sooner rather than later -- and without some of those pieces falling back in," she said, "we're steering towards catastrophe."

The increase in SNAP issuance does not reflect benefits issued through the Pandemic EBT program, intended to provide aid to SNAP and non-SNAP-receiving households with one or more children who had lost access to free- and reduced-price lunches due to school closures.

Need help? This FSSA tool will help you find food assistance near you

Families receiving these benefits were identified via Indiana Department of Education data. The amount issued was calculated based on the daily reimbursement for these meals multiplied by 56 days, or the average number of days missed once schools were closed across the state, coming to about $319 per child. While district-level data was not available, an FSSA spokesman told IndyStar that as of Aug. 9, a total of $188,562,688 Pandemic EBT benefits had been issued to Indiana families.

Food insecurity expected to rise due to COVID-19

When looking for longer-term solutions, it's necessary to understand the scope of the impact the COVID-19 outbreak will have on food insecurity. According to Feeding America, a national nonprofit working to fight hunger across the U.S., more than 37 million Americans were food insecure before the virus began to take hold.

Food insecurity was at the lowest it had been since the Great Recession, but the pandemic threatens to reverse all of those improvements, further affecting those who were already struggling and placing even more at risk.

That could be a devastating blow for Hoosiers, 1 in 8 of whom are already struggling with hunger.

View the map: Explore Feeding America's county-level projections of how food insecurity may increase

The organization projects food insecurity in Marion County -- which in 2018 was 15.3%, or about 144,260 residents -- will climb to 20.6% by the end of the year. Likewise, Hamilton County could see their proportion of food insecure residents climb to 12.4%; Johnson County may reach 15.1%; Hendricks could reach 13.7% and Hancock could reach 14.8%.

Service providers have shifted gears to respond quickly, Bryant said, but many have been working at capacity since the pandemic began.

<style>.oembed-frame { width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0; border: 0; }</style><center>Please support the work of IndyStar reporters and visual journalists by becoming a subscriber today. Get unlimited digital access here!</center>

"Folks are running at, in some cases, double the amount of poundage and clients they were seeing last year and are running as fast and as hard as they can," she said. "The intention is for us to keep that up as long as possible."

But the reality is that much more will need to be done to meet the need, both at the local and federal level, Bryant said. Without a clear path for what could happen next, thousands of Hoosiers stand to be affected.

"We're just kind of waiting for that next shoe to drop and to figure out how the charitable sector responds to it," she said. "It's a little scary for us as service providers and it's terrifying for the people we serve."

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at 317-444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana issued $144M in food stamps in July, up 111% compared to same time last year

___

(c)2020 The Indianapolis Star

Visit The Indianapolis Star at www.IndyStar.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.